Cardinal Sean O’Malley protests against the decision of certain states in the southern United States to move Latin American migrants to northern cities and to exploit the human suffering of these populations.
The migration issue is still sensitive in the United States, especially in the run-up to the mid-term elections in November. Opposed to the policy of the Biden administration, the Republican governors of several Southern states have sent thousands of migrants to northern cities such as New York, Chicago, Washington or Boston.
Some governors accuse the American president of having turned the Mexican border into a sieve, and thus want to show the executive what they describe as a migration crisis. “We’re Sending Migrants to Biden Administration Gardens to Urge Actionthey explained. On September 15, two buses carrying migrants from Mexico arrived near the residence of Vice President Kamala Harris in the federal capital. The White House describes this instrumentalization as “shameful and irresponsible”.
One voice has particularly resonated in recent hours, that of Cardinal Sen O’Malley, the Archbishop of Boston. In recent days, dozens of migrants from Venezuela have arrived in Massachusetts from Florida.
« We have been too slow to develop an effective response to immigrants, migrants and refugees at a time when the movement of men, women, children and families surpasses any other known example in our history.lamented Cardinal O’Malley in a statement.
A situation of oppression
« This week, the humanity and vulnerability that immigrants and refugees share came to us in Massachusetts. Venezuelan refugees came from a situation of oppression and enormous suffering in their own country he recalled. ” Not only Venezuelans, but also Haitians and other Latin Americans are caught in the overwhelming urgency of the US southern border “explained the Archbishop of Boston, who thanked the many volunteers from his diocese who mobilized to welcome these migrants.
For Cardinal O’Malley, “the need for a more long-term systematic response is essential“. In the United States, “a failing immigration system requires immediate reform” still judges the cardinal harshly. “Whether it’s ‘Dreamers’ still seeking legal stability in their lives, those fleeing war in Ukraine, poverty in Latin America and Africa, or crises in the Middle East, the call of our common humanity will accompany us in the years to come. I pray that we are up to this challenge,” he concludes.