Catholic activists ponder fate of Iraqi immigrants

WASHINGTON-At this week’s National Migration Conference sponsored by U.S. Catholic bishops, participants engaged in a host of familiar issues: New York University professor Marcelo Suarez-Orozco boasted proudly that the 300 millionth child born in the U.S. was named Jose, while Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles said immigration reform must be a major issue in […]

WASHINGTON-At this week’s National Migration Conference sponsored by U.S. Catholic bishops, participants engaged in a host of familiar issues: New York University professor Marcelo Suarez-Orozco boasted proudly that the 300 millionth child born in the U.S. was named Jose, while Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles said immigration reform must be a major issue in the 2008 elections. But amid the discussion of undocumented workers and economic development, another question loomed: What to do about Iraq? An estimated 2 million Iraqis have fled their war-torn country, with most taking refuge in neighboring countries. But with record numbers of Iraqis resettling in the U.S., Catholic aid and resettlement groups say they deserve the same amount of attention given to migrants who cross America’s southern boarder. “We have a lot of people coming to Detroit who are very educated, and it’s not easy to get a job in their field,” said John Binatta, from the Archdiocese of Detroit. “They come with high expectations.”

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