The US bishops’ conference is criticizing new Homeland Security directives to seek out and detain illegal immigrants from Iraq. The way that Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Wenski of Miami, chairman of the bishops’ Migration Committee, phrases it is as “automatic detention of asylum seekers from selected countries.” He says it violates international law and undermines our tradition as a safe haven for the oppressed.
Excuse me, Your Grace, but the ones breaking the law are the illegal aliens. Besides that, do you understand that we are at war? Saddam Hussein has promised to retaliate against us anywhere and that a prime means of retaliation would be Iraqi spies sneaking into this country. We’re not at war with Mexico, so it makes no sense to “target” Mexicans.
The government is not sending detainees to Gitmo as prisoners of war. They’re being questioned and investigated, and if they are truly refugees and asylum seekers, they’ll probably be welcomed into our country. Remember that they were the ones who broke the law in the first place, so they don’t get to have a presumption of innocence.
If we followed your policy, Your Grace, and some Iraqi agents detonated a dirty nuke in Manhattan, where would that leave us? Profiling works because we know who are enemy is. Anyone who resembles that enemy must be investigated; not harassed or persecuted, but investigated.
