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Arizona law partially overturned, but look at the reasons

Phoenix, Arizona (CNN) — A legal battle over a tough Arizona immigration law appeared certain after a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday that blocked the most controversial parts of the law a day before it was to take effect. The injunction means that, at least for now, police are prevented from questioning people’s immigration status if there is reason to believe... [Read more]

Do I look illegal?

Father Orthoduck has preempted Father Ernesto’s discussion on government to present the video below. Certainly, one of the functions of government is to ensure that the laws are written in such a way that they do not lead to inappropriate profiling. As our laws often put it, it is important for government functionaries to have reasonable cause in order to search people, or, yes, in order to require... [Read more]

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Brewer, higher and deeper

Governor Brewer of Arizona keeps being defended as a person who is willing to be forthright, speak the truth, defend her state, and in no way be biased or use stereotypes. But, as I have pointed out before, Latinos are worried about what she (and others) say because we see them as not only re-building old stereotypes, but also as justifying the setting aside of civil rights for certain categories of... [Read more]

Arizona, Gov. Brewer, and stereotypes

Here is the latest news out of Arizona, courtesy of every one of the major news services. I am quoting parts of the story as reported by the Associated Press: PHOENIX — Gov. Jan Brewer said Friday that most illegal immigrants entering Arizona are being used to transport drugs across the border, an assertion that critics slammed as exaggerated and racist. Brewer said the motivation of “a lot”... [Read more]

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The Militia and Latinos have some areas of common cause

There are hundreds of private militia organizations in the United States, some are much better organized than others. A fellow Eastern Orthodox believer is a member of one of the militias, and he comments that there are two types of militia, those which are there to protect the Constitutional rights of all citizens in their areas and those which have a racist purpose. He says that the news media and... [Read more]

What immigration reform do I favor?

One of the people who commented on my post on Why Latinos (and African-Americans) have concerns about their fellow Evangelicals asked me, “First of all, Fr. Ernesto – now would be a great time for a positive statement of your ideal immigration policy.” Since that request did not have to do with the request yesterday, I delayed it until today. So, what is my idea of an immigration policy? You... [Read more]

Why Latinos (and African-Americans) have concerns about their fellow Evangelicals

On June 2, I blogged a post titled, “Why Latinos fear the Arizona law.” The lead was that of a natural-born citizen, a Puerto Rican, detained in jail in Chicago for several extra days because they wanted to make sure he was a citizen. This was despite the fact that he showed them legitimate state ID, and his mother brought in his birth certificate. My point was that the incident in Chicago... [Read more]

Why Latinos fear the Arizona law

Sadly, the cartoon above is correct. See the interview: A Chicago man who spent the weekend in jail and faced deportation on suspicion he is in the country illegally said what happened to him illustrates the need for America to change the way it deals with immigration. Eduardo Caraballo said his self-described nightmare began last week when he was arrested in connection with a stolen car case. He... [Read more]

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Roman Catholic bishops, healthcare, and pro-life

Yesterday, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops published a statement to go along with the signing of the new healthcare bill by President Obama. I posted the statement yesterday on this blog, but it can also be found here. It, and the letter to Congress that I also posted yesterday, are important statements, both for what it says concerning healthcare and what it says about pro-life in... [Read more]

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Update on Catholic bishops, healthcare, and Obama

The statement below is fresh today from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. It addresses both healthcare and the bill that was just signed. For nearly a century, the Catholic bishops of the United States have called for reform of our health care system so that all may have access to the care that recognizes and affirms their human dignity. Christian discipleship means, “working to... [Read more]

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