Curbs on Illegal Immigration Are ‘Social Sin,’ Mahony Says

Cardinal Roger M. Mahony told the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission on Friday that recent proposals to curb illegal immigration amount to “social sin” that would institutionalize evil.

Mahony, sharpening his previous public remarks in defense of immigrants, was the first of 12 speakers to address the commission, which will advise the Board of Supervisors about the effects of immigration policies on Los Angeles County.

One out of every three county residents counted in the 1990 census was foreign-born; 40% of the city’s population was born outside the United States.

Although Mahony mentioned no names, his most barbed comments were reserved for proposals advocated by Gov. Pete Wilson to deny citizenship, as well as education and health benefits, to U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. He also blasted suggestions by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) of using National Guard troops to guard the Mexican border.

“The divisive rhetoric of the immigration debate is harmful in itself,” Mahony said. “It plays upon fears and emotions, it affirms the racism and prejudices deeply ingrained in the hearts and minds of people.

“But when individuals seek to further embody this rhetoric in social policy, then the evil of this rhetoric becomes institutionalized. It is given life. It is what we call social sin.”

At the close of the cardinal’s prepared remarks, Commissioner Ray Bartlett asked him about “certain horrendous figures” associated with the costs of providing benefits to illegal immigrants.

“I don’t believe a lot of those figures,” Mahony responded.

Commissioner Morris Kight suggested that part of the nation’s immigration problem stems from overpopulation in Mexico, but Mahony told him, “I’m not sure that overpopulation is the biggest problem of Mexico.”

Mahony said he is convinced that the North American Free Trade Agreement recently approved by Congress will improve economic development in Mexico and, as a consequence, reduce immigration to the United States.

In response to another question, Mahony said he believes the immigration backlash “has a lot to do with the color of the immigrants and the language that they speak. There is a lot of discrimination against Asians and Hispanics.”

Although most of the speakers appearing before the commission warned about a climate of hostility toward immigrants, both legal and illegal, the Los Angeles coordinator of the Federation for American Immigration Reform said the real issue is numbers.

“At a time of growing migration pressures around the world, we must now face the reality that resource consumption and environmental considerations limit the number of people the United States can absorb,” Danielle Elliott said.

Elliot said that although many believe the best way to alleviate the problem is to attack poverty, overpopulation and political repression abroad, such efforts have largely been unsuccessful, as they would be if a foreign government tried to reform the U.S. government.

As the hearing was about to end, the sole observer not connected with any group, Joe Zarubica, 83, asked if the public could be heard.

Although he was told no, Zarubica, a Serbo-Croatian interpreter and a Los Angeles-born son of immigrants, thundered, “This is a totally one-sided presentation! If this place is as bad as some of these people make it out to be, none of these people would be here!”