Speakers say U.S. should let workers go back and forth across border

Published: 2008-03-18

MARYKNOLL, N.Y. (CNS) -- Speakers at a Maryknoll forum said a just and humane U.S. immigration policy would allow people to cross borders to work for a guaranteed just wage, when work is available, and then return home freely. Such a policy would give urgent attention to the root causes of involuntary migration, be national in scope and draw a clear distinction between national immigration policy and national security policy, they said, and would provide more legal routes to immigration than currently exist. But it's not likely to happen any time soon, concluded the three panelists who addressed the topic "Faces of Immigration" at the forum, held March 12 and attended by 140 people. Marie Dennis, director of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, said there has been a "flurry of legislative proposals" in Congress recently that "are largely very restrictive and focused on enforcement and building a wall." She said that despite the bleak prospects for the imminent passage of comprehensive national immigration laws "the legislation itself is insignificant; what is important is the conversation around the legislation. It is the debate and dialogue that will shape the legislation."

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