Publications

Immigration and non-documented Latinos

Larry Siewert is the Co-Founder & Director of Graduates of Nativity Jesuit Middle School in Milwaukee and has been working in the Hispanic community for many years.

In 1993, he joined Fr. Bill Johnson in founding NJMS with the motto of: "We Educate Latino Youth for Christian Leadership and Service." He served six years as Nativity’s first principal before taking on his current position.

Prior to his service to Nativity, he had worked at Marquette University High School for 29 years, including 11 as Marquette High’s first lay principal.

Jesuit Journeys asked Siewert to share his thoughts on immigration and its importance to every day lives.

Big Picture: It appeared that President Obama was very interested in getting things moving on the issue of immigration reform. However, other issues (war, healthcare, economy) have pushed this to the back burner and it’s anyone’s guess when there will any significant action taken on the national level.

Given how the country has reacted after September 11, the level of fear and anxiety among citizens of the U.S. has soared in my opinion. Forces opposing immigration reform that would lead toward legal status for undocumented persons have used fear as a tool to work against meaningful reform. Building fences, denying drivers’ licenses, raiding businesses, and other like events are creating more and more fear against the undocumented.

Young People: It has been my hope that the issue of undocumented people can be broken down into smaller, more understandable parts. By that I mean that rather than see the number of undocumented Latinos as being somewhere between 15 and 20 million people (a staggering number for people to comprehend) that the total number be broken into segments: those that have been in the U.S. for many years, those that are employed, those that pay taxes, and most importantly for me: those young people who came to the U.S. when very young.

These young people have attended most of their school years here and have achieved in the same manner as other children. I think most citizens would be sympathetic to these children and realize that with more education, they would become solid citizens if given the chance. After spending a certain number of years in U.S. schools (perhaps 6 or more), they should have the opportunity to attend college with financial aid available to them as it is to other students, and then apply for and receive legal status so they can work and live freely here.

Our past: It astounds me that as a country we seem to have a collective poor memory about how we were formed and how we got here. Ours is a country of immigrants who came to escape poverty and persecution, and that was not very long ago. Why don’t we better recognize that immigrant Latinos are coming for the same reasons?

The Church: The Catholic Church has a long history of helping immigrant people find acceptance and access. Communities like Milwaukee are full of Catholic churches that were at one time very ethnic and served a very particular immigrant population. Latinos, most of whom have Catholicism in their backgrounds, are the new immigrants who should be served in the same manner. Certainly established Catholics in the U.S. should be welcoming these new brothers and sisters with open arms.

What might be done by individuals: A number of things are possible:

Educate oneself more fully on the issue by reading and attending presentations.

Attend Latino gatherings to hear first hand from the people most affected and visit: justiceforimmigrants.org.

Visit the Latino neighborhoods - attend church, shop, etc - to see and interact with Latino people. This would go a long way to break down prejudice.

Contact local, state, and federal elected officials and let them know that immigration reform is a justice issue, and there should be a realistic opportunity for undocumented persons to move toward legal status in a timely manner.

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