April 23, 2007

Rev. John Fife is dangerously wrong (sanctuary movement)

From this Amy Goodman/Democracy Now! show:

[Reverend John Fife, the founder of the Sanctuary Movement of the 1980s] was the minister of Tucson's Southside Presbyterian Church for 35 years. The church was the first to offer sanctuary to undocumented immigrants from El Salvador in 1981. That launched a movement that eventually provided safe haven to thousands of Central Americans in over 500 churches and synagogues nationwide. The government infiltrated his group to gather evidence on the movement. In 1986, Fife was among eight activists convicted on various alien-smuggling charges. He served five years' probation. In 2002, he helped to form the Samaritan Patrol, now part of No More Deaths.

...REV. JOHN FIFE: The movement continues in another human rights crisis on the border. This time the government has instituted a border enforcement policy -- walls and militarization and National Guard units -- that literally uses death and death in the desert of migrants as a deterrent, as a deterrent to other people trying to cross. That's a gross violation of human rights, this policy, this strategy of deterrence by death. And to resist that, we formed No More Deaths, that puts volunteers out in the desert to try to save as many lives as we can... ...We're seeing increased militarization, increased repression and, as a result, increased death and suffering on the border of some of the poorest and most desperate people who only come, want to come work and support their families, feed their children. This is criminal...

I would be somewhat surprised to learn that there's some sort of international law saying that countries don't have a right to have borders and to take advantage of natural protections. Should the EU be required to provide a ferry service from North Africa? Was the Great Wall of China a human rights violation against the Mongols?

And, of course, the more "militarization", the fewer deaths: if illegal aliens knew there was no chance they could get in, none would bother trying to cross the desert. Fife should be working for more militarization and a 50' wall, if he really wants what he pretends to want. "No More Deaths" and others who constantly seek to subvert our immigration laws are partly responsible for the deaths that occur.

He goes on to promote "[c]omprehensive immigration reform legislation" and in general sounds like a cheap labor pimp, saying that "migration" is a "blessing and a privilege" and promoting remittances.

We're also informed that two volunteers with his organization (Daniel Strauss and Shanti Sellz) received the "Archbishop Romero Human Rights Prize" at the Rothko Chapel in Houston on Sunday.

Posted to Immigration2007a at April 23, 2007 08:44 PM