Reacting to violence in Minneapolis, the head of the nation’s largest diocese said today that “the country cannot go on like this.”
“The first task is to restore order and peace to our streets, and insist on calm and restraint in our public discourse,” Archbishop José Gomez of Los Angeles wrote in an archdiocesan media column. “I hope all sides in this conflict—federal authorities, city and state officials, and those protesting the enforcement actions—will take a step back in the interests of the common good.”
Archbishop Gomez added:
There is no question that the federal government has the duty to enforce immigration laws. But there must be a better way than this … It serves no national interest to deport undocumented men and women who are contributing to the good of our society, it only leaves children without their parents.
Our rights do not depend on the decisions of government officials or law enforcement officers; we do not lose our rights based on the color of our skin, or the language we speak, or for not having the proper documents. Right now our government seems to be treating undocumented immigrants—men, women, and children—as if they have no rights.