Long Island Clergy Attend “Immigration School”

By Sybille Ngo Nyeck

On February12, 2004, clergy of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island gathered at the Mercer School of Theology in Garden City, New York, to attend a training program on immigration. A press release signed by the Bishop of Long Island, the Right Rev. Orris G. Walker, indicated that the clergy training day was held in prelude of March 7, which has been declared “Immigration Sunday” in the diocese. The day's program was centered on President George W. Bush's recent statements on immigration. The tone set by the bishop in his convocation letter called the clergy to review Mr. Bush's words as well as notions of “citizenship” and “foreigner.”

The Diocese of Long Island covers Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties in southeastern New York, an area with a significant concentration of immigrants. Br. John Georges Robertson, a member of the Society of Saint Francis and a professor at Columbia University, opened the session with a brief outline on immigration in the United States (**). Approximately 8 to 8.5 million undocumented immigrants are currently in the US. This number increases 500.000 each year. With the aging U.S. population, it is estimated that by 2008 about 43% of jobs in the workforce will be handled by unskilled or non-professional workers: many of these workers will be undocumented.

Undocumented people in the United States also represent the underpaid working class that creates wealth but does not necessarily worry taxpayers or the Social Security system. This situation is considered intolerable by the Long Island Immigration Task Force (LIEITF), which support U.S. immigrants and advocates for reforms in policies that relate to them. Clergy agreed that any immigration reforms should prioritize supporting undocumented persons who are currently in the U.S.

“A law structured to make honest people who participate in the building of the nation ‘law breakers' is wrong, not the worker,” said the bishop.

The Task Force seeks just compensation for these workers in recognition of their contribution to the economy of the country. “A law structured to make honest people who participate in the building of the nation ‘law breakers' is wrong, not the worker,” said the bishop. The LIEITF is finding ways to ensure that the ongoing debate in the U.S. Senate on immigration and undocumented immigrants doesn't end up with the institutionalization of another form of apartheid between classes and sub-classes of workers.

Indeed, clergy at the conference expressed fear of the creation of category of second-class workers and the consequences of an inequitable policy against such undocumented workers. The history of labor in the United States has been a regrettable one of the creation of absurd distinctions, said Br. John George, noting that black slaves and American Indians know something about this history. According to Bishop Walker, the Bush administration's new proposal to deal with the issue by establishing a temporary “guest worker program” is a considerable step forward, but a limited one. The president's initiative would apparently tie workers to one employer, which would be a formula for abuse of employees, as they would not be able to look for work anywhere else. “Mr. Bush's measure apparently offers little or no hope for any access, however measured and painstaking, toward naturalization for these hard working, often maligned persons.” (LIEITF noted that undocumented workers could be labeled as criminals, changing the focus from the work that they provide the society to their clandestine status.)

Ms. Molina exposed daily problems confronted by undocumented workers. Recently, her organization conducted a survey of undocumented workers, and results show that all interviewees were underpaid. None of the immigrants received the statutory minimum wage, and often their pay is delayed or just doesn't come at all.

Joel Magallan, executive director of Asociación Tepeyac De New York , and Nadia Marin Molina from WorkerPlace Project (in Nassau and Suffolk counties) also spoke. Mr. Magallan briefly talked about the ways the illegal status of parents affects children and is related to domestic violence. Ms. Molina exposed daily problems confronted by undocumented workers. Recently, her organization conducted a survey of undocumented workers, and results show that all interviewees were underpaid. None of the immigrants received the statutory minimum wage, and often their pay is delayed or just doesn't come at all.

In one workshop, immigration legislation in Congress was discussed at length. Melissa Castro from the office of the U.S. Rep. Carolyn McCarthy expressed regret for the media's poor efforts in reporting on bills and propositions related to immigration. Mr. Irwin G. Clare, Sr., from the Caribbean Immigration Service spoke about the lack of public financing and the staff shortage for their overloaded department. Two representatives of the office of Rep. Edolphus Towns, Mr. Anthony Forman and Mr. Maurice Philips, supported this perspective.

In a closing plenary session, the clergy reviewed the bipartisan bill S-2010, sponsored by U.S. Senators Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Tom Daschle (D-SD), which was introduced in Congress on January 21, 2004. It also considered the bicameral legislation S-1461, sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), and HR-2899, sponsored by Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) and Rep. Jeff Falke (R-AZ).

As a result of the discussions on February 12th, the Diocese of Long Island is now proposing reform of the entire U.S. immigration system. Their goal is to encourage reform that takes into account the welfare of the undocumented workers by promoting a bill that supports collateral benefits. This proposed legislation will adjust the status of these workers and provide an open door for naturalization.

The intense training session ended with a prayer led by Br. Derek Ford of the Society of St. Francis.

Sybille Ngo Nyeck is a native of Yaounde, Cameroon. She is a regular contributor to A Globe of Witnesses, and her online column is Colors of Conscience . Sybille may be reached by email at sybeck77@yahoo.fr .

** Source: Fix, Michael E. and Passel, Jeffrey S., U.S. Immigration at the Beginning of the 21st Century , Testimony before the Subcommittee on Immigration and Claims, Hearing on ‘The U.S. Population and Immigration,' Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives, Aug. 2, 2001.