‘Sanctuary for Undocumented’

I am most impressed by the frankness of the position paper by the pastors of Dolores Mission and Our Lady Queen of Angels Church. I respect and endorse their rights to disobey laws with respect to matters of conscience. Due to the fact that we live in this one nation under God (as each of us might view God), we can do that. Our history is rich with examples of broken laws which have led to the making of better laws for the enrichment of the lives of many both at home and abroad.

The individual cases of the aliens are, of course, tragic and deserve all possible compassion.

There seem to be no immediate solutions at hand regarding the problems of immigration. We must maintain an open door to some to share our freedom. We all got here as immigrants or as descendants of those who were immigrants when they came to this land. But we cannot provide the same opportunity for all who would seek it at this time. Resources and technology must be compatible with population, in balance with nature. Who of us with open eyes can disregard the awesome forces of natural laws? Uncontrolled immigration could be as disastrous to our freedoms, lives and systems as overpopulation is to the places that the would-be emigrants are trying to escape. It is indeed a tragic, unfair dilemma.

The current policies of our government regarding immigration (fairly strict laws with significant flexibility built in, adjustable enforcement and loopholes) seem about as fair as one could possibly expect at this juncture of our social evolution. Faith, hope and charity must be blended with reality and common sense if we truly wish to keep and share our precious liberty.

TIMOTHY C. SIMONS

Oxnard