National Migration Week & New Doc on UK Immigration

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

Nationwide coverage of The Drew Mariani Show is made possible in part by Charity Mobile. charitymobile.com.

The issues that matter most, right here. The Drew Mariani Show.

SPEAKER_2 (0:12)

On Relevant Radio.

A major shift in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown taking effect as ICE does ramp up enforcement across the country. In Indiana alone, ICE arrested more than 400 illegal aliens during a five-day operation, including foreign nationals with criminal histories involving assaults and domestic violence and drug trafficking. And now the administration is turning its attention to taxpayer-funded benefits. A new rule changes how the federal government evaluates some immigrants who are seeking to enter the country or obtain a green card and whether they could become reliant on federal welfare.

SPEAKER_1 (0:52)

It's The Drew Mariani Show on Relevant Radio.

Drew Mariani (0:58)

Yeah, that was the national desk on the Trump administration's ramped up immigration efforts. You know, this hasn't been getting as well as we get news, but there was one time we just consumed all the oxygen in the room. And this issue is really since, you know, Donald Trump came down and that escalator in 2015 has become one of the most politically explosive issues in America right right now. There's a lot of protests this this week. The church is asking you to look beyond the politics and see the face of the child. It's National Migration Week, and Pope Leo XIV has chosen a striking theme. Even just one of these children is a theme. And at the same time, the president, the Trump administration, is dramatically increasing immigration enforcement. It just revived a much broader interpretation of a principle whose roots go all the way back to 1882 So what I want to explore, and I'd love to hear from you, is what does the church teach about immigration? Where does the church actually stand? Could immigration enforcement become an important issue in the midterm elections? How do you see it? It's 888-914-9149 to get into the conversation today. But for about 45 years, the church in the United States has used this observance. This is National Migration Week, and it runs all the way up to the 27th of this month.

To just remember our history as an immigrant church, and to pray for migrants and for refugees. And this year, where we're dealing with the 112th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, there's something that sometimes I think is lost in all of this, especially in the political debate.

Catholic church, and I'll say it again, I know I'm sound redundant, but I talk about how difficult this issue is, because I understand a nation's right to sovereign borders. I also have a heart for the migrant, and a person's right to migrate. Catholic teaching does not call for open borders. The US. Conference of Catholic Bishops summarizes the teaching in three principles. People have a right to migrate when necessary to sustain themselves. And of course, their families. Like I said, if my child was living in a garbage dump, or they couldn't eat, or they're dying of malnutrition, darn right I'd try to get them a better place to live. Nations at the same time have a right to regulate their borders. We just can't keep a border open. You see what happens when that takes place. It'll be the death of that nation. We'll talk about that coming up. We're seeing what's happening in Britain and other places.

But and here's the third principle the church gives. Those borders have to be regulated with both justice and mercy. Justice and mercy. And I think the balance matters. You know, the president has intensified his immigration enforcement. ICE arrest reached 51,000 in August. And deportations, you know, they've not risen at the same rate because of legal claims and some of these logistical limitations. And actually, the running in the difficulty of getting people back to their countries. I was just reading a little bit earlier that the president is, you know, he had earlier deals to fly people to a number of these different countries.

But they're running into some roadblocks with that. We're even paying to have some of these other countries take these migrants. But there was another situation that took place. The Trump administration rescinded the 2022 public charge regulation. That's a concept that has roots all the way back to the Immigration Act of 1882 The government may consider whether certain immigrants seeking admission or permanent residency are likely to become dependent on public support. And the new policy gives immigration officers bigger or broader discretion to examine an applicant's circumstances. So the administration says that that restores congressional intent. It promotes self-reliance. And a lot of opponents are saying, hey, the policy, we're going to take it to court. That's what they're doing. They're arguing it discourages immigrant families from using benefits for which they are legally eligible. So I want to talk about it today because, you know, the polls, there's a lot of, there's, the evidence is mixed. I mean, you can see it in the poll numbers. But let's talk about what all this means and whether it's going to play out, how it's going to affect the elections and so much more. But again, I wanted to bring this to you because it is an important week here in the country. And I want to give voice. We're in union with them. It is National Migration Week. And feel free to share your own experience. Maybe you're a migrant, maybe you're here undocumented. Maybe you agree, maybe you disagree. 888-914-9149. I'm joined by Dr. Antônio Lemos. He is a postdoctoral fellow in Theology at the University of Notre Dame where he specializes in immigration theology. I'm really looking forward to talk to him because this can be a very complex issue. Doctor, thank you for your time. Good afternoon.