OSV STORY FOR DEC. 22

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Why he's fighting for the shuttled masses in New York

With the new immigration laws, one pastor under Lady Liberty's torch wonders about our nation's conscience

By Peter T. Farrelly Jr.

[Brooklyn, N.Y.]

Since the dedication of the Statue of Liberty on Oct. 18, 1886, more than 57 million people have immigrated to the United States. And half of those who arrived during the first 50 years passed under the raised arm of "Lady Liberty" holding the light of freedom aloft at New York Harbor.

The vast majority of Americans can trace their roots to a distant shore. But now the light of Lady Liberty might as well be extinguished, except for well-to-do Europeans and people from other countries with preferred-immigration status, according to Msgr. Bryan Karvalis, pastor of the Church of the Transfiguration in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Hispanics and Asians, generally those trying to escape dire poverty or religious and political persecution in their own country, "are being turned away mercilessly" as a result of election-eve changes in immigration and welfare laws, Msgr. Karvalis said.

"I'm so ashamed to be an American," he lamented while relating the frequent scene of factories and other work sites being raided by agents of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). The raids were once only sporadic, but under the new laws, "they are almost continuous now."

"They pull the paddy wagons up to the factory and surround the building. Suddenly people are screaming, jumping out windows, trying to hide -- and the only crime they have committed is that they are working and paying taxes," he said.

"They put these poor people in chains and take them to jails in Pennsylvania and Louisiana, where they are put in with convicted criminals. Then they wait for months to be deported. It's so traumatic and so shameful. It's unbelievably un-American, to say nothing of not being Christian."

Msgr. Karvalis is in a position to know. His parish stands beneath the raised arm of Lady Liberty on the banks of the East River, and he has been ministering to the immigrants who arrive in New York by boat for more than 40 years.

Many parish volunteers open their arms in welcome to the new immigrants, feeding and clothing them with the scarce resources they have, helping them find a place to live while they get their bearings in this new land.

Most of the volunteers were immigrants themselves, and they know well the poverty, the feelings of displacement and loneliness the new immigrants are experiencing.

Backers of the new laws claim immigrants "are using the schools and hospitals without paying. But the truth is, these people are working and paying taxes and getting nothing back for their efforts," Msgr. Karvalis explained.

"The percentage of immigrants who are working compared to those who

aren't is much less than the rest of the American population, yet they are being branded as something villainous -- 'illegal aliens.' "

Immigrants from Italy, England, Ireland and Germany, however, do not receive the same stigma, because they are considered of the same economic class as most Americans and easily obtain tourist visas, according to Anne Pillsbury, an immigration lawyer who works at the parish.

She noted that, proportionately, Italians are the largest group of immigrants who overstay their tourist visas, yet it is the Hispanics who are hunted by the INS.

Last year, Pillsbury's office provided legal assistance to 6,000 people, and it handles only the Central American cases.

While she was aware of changes being considered in the immigration laws, Pillsbury said the election-eve changes were "a lot more harsh than we knew" and passed without the usual public debate.

In addition to increasing efforts to repel Hispanic immigrants along the Mexican border, Pillsbury said the new laws "virtually eliminate appeals for asylum because of persecution for race, religion or membership in a social group. It was always difficult to win asylum. With the new law, it's practically nonexistent."

"We're still trying to get one young girl out [of jail] who applied for asylum because her uncle was assassinated in Guatemala," Pillsbury said.

The girl's mother sent her here for fear of further retribution because her uncle expressed certain political opinions.

The girl was taken to a county jail in Pennsylvania when the INS couldn't find her application file, and the time for her application had expired.

Both Pillsbury and Msgr. Karvalis have been to the jail to visit the girl, and there's no telling how long she might be there. Her bond is $5,000, and Pillsbury said, "We've had people who have won asylum who have been in jail for more than a year. And it's getting even harder now."

The facilities, however, are not meant for long-term incarceration. "These were built for people who would be there only a few days. Most people are there at least a couple of months. There're no exercise or outdoor facilities -- and these are all non-criminals," she explained.

The new laws also prohibit parents from sponsoring the entry of their children or relatives, unless they can show they have sufficient income to care for them -- independent of any extra income the relatives might earn when they arrive, Pillsbury said.

"That means they would have to be in the middle class, earning $40,000 or more a year," Msgr. Karvalis said.

Lady Liar?

Under the updated laws, immigrants who do not apply for documentation within one year of their arrival are subject to immediate deportation.

Illegal immigrants "will be summarily cut off" from government assistance of any kind -- not just food stamps and welfare assistance, but also police protection and medical attention -- because government employees, from hospital staffs to teachers and police officers, would be encouraged to report illegal immigrants who seek such services.

The effect would be to close the legal system to immigrants, who couldn't testify about a crime they witnessed, nor report being a victim of a crime for fear of being deported.

Another part of the new law prohibits legal immigrants from receiving welfare assistance for more than a year during their first seven years in the country. Even if they have been working and paying taxes for four or five years previously, they would be automatically deported.

"It's a shameful situation that we have to correct," Msgr. Karvalis said. "Bishops should speak out and people should come out to the marches. They should write to their legislators and tell them that this injustice needs to be repealed."

Unfortunately, even many Catholics who came to this country to escape religious persecution have been taken in by the image of the immigrant as a threat, Msgr. Karvalis said.

"Immigrant-bashing has become a popular thing, and middle-class Catholics have become a part of the woodwork of American society. Many see immigrants as a threat, but it's not true. Unfortunately, these people are poor and they have no voice, and it's easy to kick them."

Msgr. Karvalis was one of several Catholic priests and others who led a protest march last month to highlight the plight of the immigrants and the injustice of the new laws.

During the rally, Msgr. Karvalis pointed to the statue and quoted the message inscribed at its base: "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . . ."

"Let's not turn 'Lady Liberty' into 'Lady Liar,' " he said. "We need to open our

arms to these people. We need to take a lesson from the recent Gospel teaching," in which those who had not fed the hungry, welcomed the stranger or clothed the poor were turned away from the gates of heaven, Msgr. Karvalis said. "These are the people Christ was talking about."

Farrelly writes from Huntington, Conn.

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