Elimination of U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program “Against the Principles We Have as a Nation” Says Chair of USCCB Committee on Migration

[billsherman]

Dealing with predator priests (of every sort) might be a good topic, don’t you think?

I don’t understand this reply. Does this mean that they can only speak about predator priests? Or does it mean that they should ignore other moral issues until that problem is solved? I’m not sure where you are going with this.

 

[Zzyzx_Road]

Not a single word you wrote applies to refugees - who are the subject of this topic.

Who is my neighbor supposed to be?

Most refugees are actually economic migrants, but it isn’t politically correct to say that. I also notice you completely dodged the issue of competition for jobs with my neighbors. Don’t want to go there, huh?

Regarding the Gospels, that was the stranger from a couple of towns over. Not the stranger from thousands of miles away. But you’re telling me the stranger from the next town down the highway from me is to take a back seat to the stranger from overseas? I also noticed you don’t address the possibility of helping the refugees where they originate from. Another dodge, I guess.

 

[billsherman]

Most refugees are actually economic migrants, but it isn’t politically correct to say that. I also notice you completely dodged the issue of competition for jobs with my neighbors. Don’t want to go there, huh?

Um…no. Refugees are from specifically designated areas set out by the UN, and are vetted, typically for 18-24 months before being admitted to the country. They are people fleeing persecution resulting from war. People are not granted refugee status for economic reasons. Your objections simply do not apply to refugees.

I also notice you completely dodged the issue of competition for jobs with my neighbors. Don’t want to go there, huh?

Your neighbors are competing with refugees for jobs? That’s unusual, largely because the US lets in so few refugees per year, but certainly not impossible. I honestly find it hard to believe that more than one refugee would apply for any given job. I think you are confused about refugees vs. asylum seekers vs. other migrants. Refugees are LEGAL migrants fleeing war and/or persecution from their government.

Regarding the Gospels, that was the stranger from a couple of towns over. Not the stranger from thousands of miles away. But you’re telling me the stranger from the next town down the highway from me is to take a back seat to the stranger from overseas?

If you think Jesus wants you to ignore people fleeing war and/or persecution from their government than we have read very different Gospels.

I also noticed you don’t address the possibility of helping the refugees where they originate from. Another dodge, I guess.

Not a dodge, it doesn’t apply. You can’t help refugees “where they originate” because, by definition, a refugee has been forced out of that place by war and/or government persecution.

Again, I think you are confused about what it means to be a refugee. Refugees are people who have fled the worst that humanity has to offer, and have been vetted while waiting in a UN provided camp. They wait there, usually, for 18-24 months before being relocated in another country. They can’t go back to where they come from, or else they will be killed, tortured, etc.

I understand that Trump, and many Trump supporters, don’t like refugees either. But they are people who “did it the right way” and came, or are trying to come, to the US legally. Surely you don’t oppose legal immigration, right? That’s what refugees are, legal immigrants.

 

[upant]

I understand that Trump, and many Trump supporters, don’t like refugees either. But they are people who “did it the right way” and came, or are trying to come, to the US legally. Surely you don’t oppose legal immigration, right? That’s what refugees are, legal immigrants.

Has it been proven to be true yet. The topic is about the elimination of a program and its elimination may be false.

 

[billsherman]

Has it been proven to be true yet. The topic is about the elimination of a program and its elimination may be false.

The USCCB certainly found it alarming enough to get in front of it.

In general, it is certain that the Trump Administration wants to at least severely reduce refugees. They have taken actions before to stop them, and have made a number of statements against the idea of refugees. I suspect that is why the USCCB took this report very seriously.

I think it is irrefutable that the Trump Administration, and many supporters, oppose ALL immigration (even legal immigration, like refugees).

For examples of Trump’s attempts to slow down admission of (LEGAL) refugees:

Trump to Cap Refugees Allowed Into U.S. at 30,000, a Record Low (Published 2018)

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the further cuts to an already scaled-back program reflected a “daunting operational reality.”

www.nytimes.com

The Trump administration has admitted the lowest number of refugees the US has accepted in decades. Here's what people go through to make it to the US.

The Trump administration slashed the "cap" on the number of refugees accepted into the US in 2019 to 30,000, and admitted just 18,051 so far.

www.businessinsider.com

Trump’s war on refugees is tearing down US's life-changing resettlement program

Donald Trump has for two consecutive years overseen the lowest refugee admission rates since the modern resettlement system was created in 1980

www.theguardian.com

Trump Bars Refugees and Citizens of 7 Muslim Countries (Published 2017)

The president also temporarily suspended immigration from seven mostly Muslim countries and gave preference to Christians from abroad.

www.nytimes.com

 

[upant]

Still the program is not being eliminated. Why not use the actual reduced numbers, what is the actual intent? There seems to be an agenda being pushed.

 

[billsherman]

Still the program is not being eliminated.

Yet. Why should the USCCB wait until it is? Can’t they be proactive?

There seems to be an agenda being pushed.

I think there is an obvious agenda. The Catholic Church is one of strongest advocates of refugee rights in the world. The bishops take it very seriously. Their agenda is supposed to be Jesus’ agenda, and I think defending the least amongst us is a pretty good example of following it.

 

[Zzyzx_Road]

Mr Sherman, not going to see eye to eye with you over this. But one more question: is it right to admit those refugees whose culture is inimical to American values? Shouldn’t they be relocated to countries with values closer to theirs? Why hasn’t that been done? Have any nearby countries with cultural values closer to the refugees ever actually taken in refugees? Why should we be taking them all?

One more thing about the Good Sam story in the Bible: there is nothing in there about taking the injured victim back to one’s own country. That inn was meant to be temporary lodging and the Samaritan implied as much, hence it could be assumed that the traveler would return to his own town once he had recuperated. So somehow that gets translated to modern day permanent relocation and spending far beyond what it takes to recuperate from injuries?

 

[billsherman]

But one more question: is it right to admit those refugees whose culture is inimical to American values? Shouldn’t they be relocated to countries with values closer to theirs? Why hasn’t that been done? Have any nearby countries with cultural values closer to the refugees ever actually taken in refugees? Why should we be taking them all?

This seems like going down a dark path here. Who gets to decide which values are “inimical to American values?” That can pretty easily be interpreted to mean: people who don’t look like me, don’t worship in my church, and don’t sound like me. Sorry, a little too easy to just be outright racist there. Plus, what are American values? I seriously doubt you could get fifty Americans to agree on that.

So somehow that gets translated to modern day permanent relocation and spending far beyond what it takes to recuperate from injuries?

I think you have a bone to pick with the Catholic Bishops and the Pope, who interpret loving your neighbor far differently than you do. You should bring it up with your bishop, he can probably give you a better answer than I can.

 

[upant]

Yet. Why should the USCCB wait until it is? Can’t they be proactive?

They are fear mongering claiming the elimination of the program. Why not cite the real numbers, which I would expect the bishops to do.