Immigration

I've always enjoyed reading Fr. Richard McBrien's thoughtful analysis of theological issues but when it comes to dealing with immigration (NCR, July 20), he sounds like just another fearful middle-class white guy. Fr. McBrien paints a caricature of immigrant rights advocates as "favoring the immediate legalization of 12 million [immigrants], but offering no solution to the seemingly endless flow of illegal immigrants to this country." No progressive immigration advocate I know of backs this proposition on immigration reform. Fr. McBrien echoes the breathless rants of nativists, that white America is being invaded by hordes of brown people who threaten our economic stability and cultural integrity.

The fact is that these brown folks, legal and illegal, sustain our economy with their backbreaking cheap labor. Most middle-class whites will do anything to maintain this endless supply of slave labor, including building a Maginot line on the border and dividing families with cruel and heartless deportations. This is why Catholics should be proud of their bishops who consistently back sensible and humane immigration legislation. As for Fr. McBrien, he should spend some time with Catholic communities on the border and he should read up on nativist attacks against his fellow Irish back in the last century.

MARK DAY

Vista, Calif.

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