Thread: Immigration Legal Services embedded within Catholic Church

Lawyer fights for immigrant victims

Catholic Sentinel
Ed Langlois

Every day, Geoff Scowcroft gets a call from someone in Oregon who's snared in the federal immigration system.

Their woes can keep him up nights.

Scowcroft is head of a small and unusual law firm; Immigration Legal Services is embedded within Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Portland. The firm has a special mandate to work with immigrant victims of assault and domestic violence, plus human trafficking victims, all of whom often are eligible for special remedies to their status problems.

The lawyers also defend other immigrants against questionable deportation and help residents become citizens. Many immigrants who need help have been detained for minor reasons like a traffic violation. Even if the infraction gets dismissed, police have nevertheless been using post-911 provisions to push for deportation.

Catholic Charities decided against offering legal services to people who are charged with serious crimes.

"No one wants to keep violent criminals around," Scowcroft says. "But these days there is more scrutiny for all who are arrested."

Oregon is not Arizona, so Scowcroft does not expect a harsh enforcement law to be passed here. But he says what's needed is federal action to solve the confusing patchwork of laws, including Arizona's and one in the small eastern Nebraska city of Fremont, where employers and landlords can be punished for hiring or renting to undocumented immigrants.

Scowcroft, a member of St. Patrick Parish in Portland, is fed up with how families get hurt by what he calls "this dysfunctional immigration system."

He's seen spouses torn from one another and parents from children. Some youths are forced to go live in a country they have never known or are blocked from joining their parents in the U.S.

"To me, that doesn't seem like promoting family values," Scowcroft says. "It's frustrating and it's heartbreaking many times."

He's a Philadelphia native who grew up in New York and attended Catholic schools.
A former rental car company middle manager, he went to law school at Seton Hall at 46 and got into immigration work a decade ago. He'd been inspired by a priest in New Jersey who had a passion for the ministry. Scowcroft worked for Catholic Charities in Newark before coming to Portland four years ago.

There is no dearth of work for immigration lawyers like him. Catholic Charities has five immigration attorneys in Portland and two in Medford. They all have too many cases and must refuse some at times. Scowcroft hopes the department can expand.

He believes heartily in the principles of comprehensive immigration reform as set out by the U.S. Catholic bishops: global anti-poverty efforts, expanded chances for reunifying immigrant families and a temporary worker program that includes a path to citizenship.

One of his credos: "Keep families and human beings in mind."

Catholic immigrants, antsy about entering the legal system, are comforted by the Catholic identity of his department. Last year, Catholic Charities' lawyers helped 3,000 people.
"Immigrants are a very positive force in this country," Scowcroft says.

They do the work that needs doing, they pay taxes and they bring cultural richness, he adds, dismissing arguments that undocumented workers exert downward pressure on wages.

He cites statistics that concur: increases in foreign-born workers have no negative effect on the employment of native-born workers.

Scowcroft wrote an op-ed explaining his immigration beliefs in the Oregonian a year ago and the hate mail has only just ended. But he's convinced that most Americans want the kind of reform the bishops want; it's just that a vocal minority makes it seem otherwise.

In answer to those who say the church has no business helping illegal immigrants, Scowcroft appeals to the Gospel of Matthew, which says "welcome the stranger," and to the roots of most Catholics.

"It's a church of immigrants," he says. "Think of Newark — there will be three churches in just a few blocks — the Polish, the Italian and the Irish."

It's human nature, Scowcroft says, for the descendants of earlier immigrants to begrudge the current arrivals.

"To be undocumented is a civil matter, not a criminal matter," he explains. "There is a moral, human dimension not captured in the law."

http://www.catholicsentinel.org/Main.as ... leID=12189

Will attorney Scowcroft be defending the illegal alien who just killed the Catholic Nun?

Related
'Preparing for CIR': Catholic Legal Immigration Network Manual
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-207675.html

The Catholic church is misguided. They think they are helping the poor and downtrodden, but they are helping south and middle american oligarchies who encourage people to go to US and send remittances that keep their countries afloat, which allows the oligarchy to keep enriching itself and do nothing to help their own citizens and their economies. Many of these countries are resource rich, but the riches are held by the oligarchy.

The Bible says to obey the law, and the Catholic church is encouraging illegals to break the law. The Catholic church is helping to hurt innocent Americans by destroying jobs and reducing pay in the process. This is especially true for black americans, whose employment has especially been harmed by legal immigrant employment as well as illegal alien employment, a bad policy promoted by the American government. Since the 60's as immigration increased, black unemployment decreased proportionately. Illegals and legals take jobs at lower pay that Americans used to do at a decent wage. This is true at middle and lower economic levels.

The Catholic church should hold the south/middle american countries to task to help their own people. The church has a lot of power. It should stop encouraging people to break the law and go after the oligarchies, not Americans. Americans are a generous and gentle people compared to much of the world. I guess it is easier to beat us up than go after the real culprits.

Actions and announcements of the Catholic church are a key reason so many illegals feel so entitled to be here and why they look at Americans as evil people if they object to illegal aliens being here or amnesty.

Watson wrote:

"The Catholic church is misguided. They think they are helping the poor and downtrodden, but they are helping south and middle american oligarchies who encourage people to go to US and send remittances that keep their countries afloat, which allows the oligarchy to keep enriching itself and do nothing to help their own citizens and their economies. Many of these countries are resource rich, but the riches are held by the oligarchy.

"The Bible says to obey the law, and the Catholic church is encouraging illegals to break the law. The Catholic church is helping to hurt innocent Americans by destroying jobs and reducing pay in the process. This is especially true for black americans, whose employment has especially been harmed by legal immigrant employment as well as illegal alien employment, a bad policy promoted by the American government. Since the 60's as immigration increased, black unemployment decreased proportionately. Illegals and legals take jobs at lower pay that Americans used to do at a decent wage. This is true at middle and lower economic levels.

"The Catholic church should hold the south/middle american countries to task to help their own people. The church has a lot of power. It should stop encouraging people to break the law and go after the oligarchies, not Americans. Americans are a generous and gentle people compared to much of the world. I guess it is easier to beat us up than go after the real culprits.

"Actions and announcements of the Catholic church are a key reason so many illegals feel so entitled to be here and why they look at Americans as evil people if they object to illegal aliens being here or amnesty."

Reply:

This is so well-put!

Tragically the great "global" problem of our era is that modern health methods and fewer wars have resulted in a huge increase in human populations around the world. This is primarily true in the vast geographic areas dominated by Islam and the Catholic Church, two powerful international religions which refuse to allow, let alone advocate, responsible methods of birth control for their followers. It is for this reason that these religions (and their liberal supporters) are pushing for the United States and Canadian governments to allow their "surplus followers" into our "uncrowded countries". I saw Michael Moore on television the other evening telling people that we are "obligated" to take immigrants because the "United States has so much space." "Have you ever driven across Kansas?", he asked, "It just goes on and on." As a matter of fact, I have, specifically during a wheat harvest season, where I watched what appeared to be some 15 combines move in an orderly row across the large fields necessary to grow wheat. Those large spaces in the United States and Canada are there because that is where we produce food. And it is necessary that it remain that way. Our ability to grow most of our own food has been one of the greatest strengths of our nation. And while she is a liberal brought up entirely in an urban area, I do commend Michelle Obama for planting a garden at the White House to remind us all where our food comes from!

Originally Posted by Texas2step

Tragically the great "global" problem of our era is that modern health methods and fewer wars have resulted in a huge increase in human populations around the world. This is primarily true in the vast geographic areas dominated by Islam and the Catholic Church, two powerful international religions which refuse to allow, let alone advocate, responsible methods of birth control for their followers.

Thank you. The thoughts are really from "The Immorality of Illegal Immigration" by Father P.J. Bascio. Another AILPAC member wrote about this book. I highly recommend it. He is also on YouTube. Sadly, he died this year.

Responsible for these religions is to beget, beget, beget. How strange to think that it is US who are responsible to then take on the overflow! Cheap cop out by illegal supporters.

(also: should be black employment decreased)