I must admit, somewhat ashamedly, that—of the many issues that attract my attention and concern—the plight of legal and illegal immigrants in this country has not tended to gain much notice from me. As a social worker, I am certainly conscious of the multitudes who reside on the margins of our society, those with less privilege and opportunity to gain anything more than a feeble grip on the fabled American dream of success, who live and walk among us and do the work we would ill desire to do ourselves. Yet while conscious of those on the margins—many of whom I have been delighted to serve over the years—I have perhaps been less aware of those on the margins of the margins. The denizens of the sub-margins would, in my mind, include those who, because of non-citizenship status or language and cultural barriers, are even less able to make do and succeed.

What brings this issue to the forefront of my mind is an excellent article by Nina Bernstein in yesterday’s New York Times entitled “Recourse Grows Slim for Immigrants Who Fall Ill.� The article highlights the staggering challenges faced by immigrants, legal and illegal alike, who must access a health care system that is already depleted and under significant stress. The challenges are compounded by a growing backlash against the immigrant population and legislative measures that could make receiving any such care well nigh impossible. Bernstein notes that, “in December, the United States House of Representatives passed a sweeping bill that would make ‘unlawful presence’ in this country a felony and redefine ‘criminal alien smuggling’ to include anyone helping any immigrant without legal status.� The bill that she references is H.R. 4437, and the Senate, later this month, will consider its own similar version of immigration “reform.�

Interestingly, yesterday’s New York Times also included an editorial entitled “The Gospel vs. H.R. 4437,� which expresses support for statements recently made by Cardinal Roger Mahony of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, who instructed his clergy and parishioners to defy the law. Here is an excerpt from the editorial:

The enormous influx of illegal immigrants and the lack of a coherent federal policy to handle it have prompted a jumble of responses by state and local governments, stirred the passions of the nativist fringe, and reinforced anxieties since 9/11. Cardinal Mahony’s defiance adds a moral dimension to what has largely been a debate about politics and economics. “As his disciples, we are called to attend to the last, littlest, lowest and least in society and in the church,” he said.

The cardinal is right to argue that the government has no place criminalizing the charitable impulses of private institutions like his, whose mission is to help people with no questions asked. The Los Angeles Archdiocese, like other religious organizations across the country, runs a vast network of social service programs offering food and emergency shelter, child care, aid to immigrants and refugees, counseling services, and computer and job training. Through Catholic Charities and local parishes, the church is frequently the help of last resort for illegal immigrants in need. It should not be made an arm of the immigration police as well.

I recognize that immigration is a complex issue, which becomes doubly so in a time of war and scarce resources (made so, in large part, by the diversion of subsidies to fight that war). Nonetheless, I am with Cardinal Mahony. Complex issues require complex, and even imperfect, solutions, not simplistic “get-tough-on-the-illegals� posturing that is decidedly inhumane and uncharitable. Is that who we really want to be as a nation? How, in good conscience, can we permit such? We are all immigrants.