By Father Raphael L. McDonald, O.F.M., Director of the Resettlement Division, Archdiocese of Atlanta

Much concern has been expressed during recent years, in the news media, on the matter of the illegal alien.

This issue is of great interest to the Church, since it affects over a million persons, most of whom are natives of traditionally Catholic countries.

The timeliness of the matter is evidenced by the mood of both the House and Senate. Hearings have been held and it seems that our existing laws need to be changed. New legislation being proposed is all directed to penalizing the employer of the illegal alien.”

The Rodino Bill, H.R. 982, proposed by Rep. Peter Rodino (D-N.J.) who is chairman of the House Judiciary Committee appears to be the most effective and least punitive. The principal provision is to penalize employers who knowingly employ aliens who are not authorized to take up employment.

Testimony has been heard from the Department of Justice, the Social Security Administration and the AFL-CIO, all of which endorsed the provision of the bill.

On March 27 the full House Judiciary Committee by a vote of 30-2 favorably reported on the bill to the House for action. Only minor technical amendments in language were made to the bill, which will reinstate the privilege of adjustment of status to natives of the Western Hemisphere and levy sanctions against the employers as mentioned above. No provision was made to preserve family unity.

Rodino, however, on March 28, wrote a letter to the Commissioner of Immigration asking that the service delay enforcing the departure of natives of the Western Hemisphere with close family members who are United States citizens or permanent resident aliens pending deliberations by the Congress to establish a preference system for the Western Hemisphere.

All of us are concerned that the family unity be preserved. Hence, we are pleased to read Rodino’s closing paragraph: “I feel certain that you will agree that this course of action will alleviate much hardship and that the interest of humanity will be better served. The uniting of families has been paramount in all consideration of legislation in the field of immigration.”

Congressional intent could be expressed, in a manner to allow the alien with equity to remain in the United States while he is resolving his problem. Such action is mandatory if the tens of thousands of those “in hiding” are to come forth to legalize their status, which will remedy the social and economic problems existing today.

The Migration and Refugee Services of the United States Catholic Conference, is making every effort to assure that any changes in our laws recognize the humanitarian issues involved, and do everything possible to avoid undue hardship to existing family structures.