By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
The elections are over, thank God! Certainly, I breathed a sigh of relief when the radical pro-abortion Amendment 4 failed to garner the 60% vote needed to be enshrined in our Florida State Constitution. The efforts of our Catholic people in all of our parishes and schools to educate and mobilize support against this amendment (as well as against Amendment 3) were laudable. I sincerely thank all those involved in one way or another.
And whether they agreed with the outcome of the races, I believe everyone also breathed a sigh of relief that there was no violence protesting the results of the presidential election, which proved to be conclusive. The electoral cycle was once again highly polarized, and the polemics of each side lacked civility. Now is a time for healing — and a time to abandon overheated vitriol and recover civility in our national discourse. Certainly, there are many wounds needing to be healed, and there is a deep unease among many about the direction that President Trump may wish to take the nation, especially with regard to how he might propose to “fix” our admittedly broken immigration system. But in spite of rhetoric that seemed “neo-nativist” to some, the president-elect once again attracted a significant number of Hispanic voters.
Last month, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal, the editors asked the president-elect about aliens who have been here for years, and who might have U.S. citizen spouses and children. His response was that he wanted to help them. Mr. Trump, while talking about deterrence in strong terms hinted at something less than a draconian mass deportation. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, he admitted the complexity of the issue. “We have a lot of good people in this country, and we have to do something about it.” While the president-elect declined to specify whom he would deport, his chosen “border czar,” Tom Homan, told “60 Minutes” last month, It’s not going to be a mass sweep of neighborhoods… “It’s not going to be building concentration camps. I’ve read it all. It’s ridiculous.”
To “make America great again,” we will need a robust economy — and we cannot do that without making an accommodation for the millions of immigrants, many without a permanent status, who help enable the engine of the American economy to keep running.
Until the Biden administration’s policies resulted in a massive influx of migrants, most Americans supported an immigration reform that gave a path to permanent legal status for those who have been already here for years, especially those who arrived here as children, the so-called “dreamers.” Trump would do well if at the same time as putting in place policies that effectively control our borders, he would allow a path to citizenship for the millions who already live among us. If we need “walls,” we need walls with “doors,” because some of our “greatest Americans” have been immigrants or refugees.
Congress could offer a relatively simple fix by updating the “Registry” enacted in the 1924 Immigration Law, which allowed those in the country before a certain date the possibility of legal residency if they could demonstrate “good moral character.” The last time the “Registry” was updated, that date was January 1, 1973, over 50 years ago.
“Making America great again” also means learning from the mistakes of the past. One hundred years ago, in the aftermath of World War I, Americans opted for immigration restrictionism, protectionism, and isolationism. These policies led to the Great Depression and made World War II inevitable. People were angry then, as they are now, especially those who feel left behind in an increasingly globalized world.
With wars raging in the Middle East, Central Europe, and parts of Africa, as well as the emerging threat from China, the United States and its allies cannot think of themselves as “gated communities” protected from chaos outside. They will need to project not only confidence but also strength if we are to avoid World War III.
As Pope Francis has observed, we are living not so much through an era of change but through the change of an era. Because of this, establishments or elites are all under suspicion, whether in government, in the media, or even in religion. The populism represented by the Trump campaign has parallels throughout the world. One can find such populist distrust towards ruling elites in Great Britain, France, Italy — just to name a few. Today, we must channel this anger in constructive ways that unite and not divide; that heal and do not scar; that build up and not tear down.
This great American experiment in democracy and the rule of law, and not by men, requires commitment from all of us to work together for the common good.
We wish President-elect Trump and his new administration well as they swear to uphold and protect the Constitution of the United States and to serve the American people and the world. Going forward, let’s pray that civility prevails in our political and policy debates — because we won’t make America great by making America mean.
