Bishops’ statements

Enforcement of immigration laws should be humane, target criminals, not patients seeking surgery AUSTIN – The case of an undocumented 10-year-old who was stopped by federal agents on her way to emergency surgery highlights the need for clarification of local and federal law enforcement agents’ responsibilities in securing the United States’ borders. Rosa Maria Hernandez, 10, who has cerebral palsy and has lived in the United States since she was a few months old, was detained and held by federal agents in the early morning hours of Tuesday, Oct. 10, on her way to a Corpus Christi hospital for emergency gall bladder surgery. After the surgery she was taken from her family and placed in a juvenile detention center in San Antonio. On Thursday she was released into the custody of the federal Office of Refugees and Resettlement (ORR). “While we are grateful Rosa Maria is now in the care of ORR, and should be reunited soon with her family, there is no reason why she should have had to undergo such trauma while she was in need of medical care,” said Bishop James Tamayo of the Laredo Diocese. “I am saddened and appalled that Border Patrol agents are stopping ambulances from transporting children to hospitals,” said Bishop Tamayo. “This action is not humane. It also shows why people are afraid of law enforcement agents and why we need greater protection for locales identified by ICE as ‘sensitive locations,’ such as schools, places of worship and hospitals.” San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS, in whose archdiocese Rosa Maria is now being detained, stated, “I have reached out to the proper authorities and it is my hope to meet with Rosa Maria and her family as soon as…

“The local Catholic Church, through Catholic Charities-Diocese of Laredo, stands ready to assist Rosa Maria and the Hernandez family with immigration support,” said Bishop James Tamayo of the Laredo Diocese. MORE

Bishop Daniel E. Flores of Brownsville offers prayers and practical support for Jane Doe, the unaccompanied minor who is pregnant and under federal custody in Brownsville. MORE

Under DACA, more than 110,000 young people contribute to Texas society and well-being AUSTIN –The Texas Catholic bishops have issued the following statement in response to the decision to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). We say, first, to DACA youth: regardless of your immigration status, you are a child of God. You are welcome in the Catholic Church. We support you and will advocate for you. We denounce the termination of DACA. Under the program, more than 110,000 young adults brought to Texas as children received work authorization and temporary reprieve from deportation. DACA youth contribute to the economy, serve honorably in our armed forces, excel in our schools and universities, minister in our churches, and volunteer in our communities. We are proud to claim them as our own. We reiterate: America’s immigration laws are in desperate need of reform. Families are separated and visa holders wait decades for permanent resident status. Immigrants who try to work for a better life for their families are being denied. Texans have long stood for opportunity and liberty; we will work to ensure that these blessings are extended to immigrants, especially DACA youth. To that end, we call on Texas’ two Senators and 36 Representatives to vote for the Dream Act of 2017: S.1615/H.R. 3440. Through this bill, Congress has the opportunity to reform immigration law before DACA protections terminate on March 5, 2018. Reform of the law is the most sustainable remedy for DACA students, their families, and all immigrants. We urge all Texas Catholics to contact their members of Congress and ask them to vote for this bill.

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) president, Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo of Galveston-Houston, has called for prayers and solidarity with those impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Cardinal DiNardo also called on all people of good will to closely monitor future calls for assistance for victims and survivors in the days ahead. MORE

DACA termination would punish young adults brought to the U.S. as children AUSTIN — The Catholic bishops of Texas expressed disappointment in Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s movement to terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, forcing 117,000 young people to be deported from the United States. “These individuals contribute to the economy, serve honorably in our armed forces, excel in our schools and universities, minister in our churches, and volunteer in our communities. Texans should be proud to claim them as our own” instead of deporting them, said Cardinal Daniel DiNardo and Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller, M.Sp.S., who wrote in their role as metropolitan archbishops of Texas on behalf of their brother bishops. Paxton and nine other state attorneys general recently petitioned the federal government to terminate DACA, which was created in 2012 to provide legal recognition to young adults who were brought to the United States unlawfully when they were children. To be eligible for DACA, applicants must not have a criminal record; be in school or have graduated, or have served honorably in the Armed Forces of the United States. The Texas bishops’ letter to Paxton notes that his petition “cites concerns pertaining to executive overreach.” The bishops urge Paxton also “to be mindful of migrants’ dignity and our own Texas values. DACA is but another consequence of Congress’ failure, and the young adults accepted into DACA, along with countless other migrants who truly believe in the American dream, are victims of a broken system.” The U.S. Catholic Conference of Bishops also denounced the state attorneys general petition. The full letter from the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops follows. Dear Attorney General Paxton: We are disappointed by your coordinated petition to terminate DACA. Since…

The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops is pleased to support this package of pro-life bills that provides incremental progress to reduce abortion in Texas. In 2015, more than 55,000 unborn children were killed by abortion in our state. Each one of them was made in God’s image. Each one of them was a precious child of our Lord. Each one of them was—and continues to be—precious in his sight. The tragedy of our nation is that the courts of the United States do not just permit abortion. The courts protect it. They guarantee it. Realizing our helplessness before the power of the courts, we are tempted to despair. But especially in this time of Easter, we remember that suffering and death are not the end. Life—life­—is the final victor. Legislators often have to vote for legislation that isn’t perfect. But we thank and praise legislators whose pro-life position is well-known. We also thank them for voting in a way that diminishes the harmful effects of abortion and fortifies public morality against the culture of death. A vote to protect human life—even if that protection is incremental—is exactly what St. John Paul II praised in his life and his work. (Evangelium Vitae, 73) While we don’t have the votes on the US Supreme Court to overturn Roe v Wade, and abolish abortion in our nation, we must press onward in our efforts to save lives in our state, and establish greater reverence for life in Texas. We applaud these legislators who filed these strong bills. We thank every Texas lawmaker who advances a culture of life. May God bless them and bring their work to fruition.