Bishop Of Catholic Diocese Of Fort Worth Talks Separated Child Immigrants
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - A North Texas-based charity has been called upon to help the children separated from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border.
CBS 11 News learned that Catholic Charities in Fort Worth is already caring for some of those youngsters here in North Texas.
The head of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth, Bishop Michael Olson, weighed in today on the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy on illegal border crossings.
While Olson said immigration reform is needed, he finds the Trump administration's policy "particularly sinful."
"It refuses to make the necessary distinctions for a measured response. It's immediately removing children -- separating them from their parents on first sight -- without giving grave enough reason for doing so," Olson said of the zero-tolerance policy. "Because the relationship between children and parents is so essential and necessary that it should only be interrupted for the most serious of reasons, like the safety and protection of the children themselves."
Officials with Catholic Charities wouldn't say exactly how many children it's caring for or where they are being housed, but a statement released said the staff "stands ready to expand the program as needed" and they are accepting donations of hygiene items, linens, games, and toys and offering information on how North Texans can foster a migrant child.
Wednesday morning Catholic Charities issued a lengthy statement about the family situations happening at the border that said, in part --
"The use of separation of children, including babies, from their mothers and fathers at the U.S./Mexico border as a tool for implementing the Administration's zero-tolerance policy is sinful because it undermines the right to life of the vulnerable, directly traumatizes those who have already been injured, and undermines the role of legitimate authority.
I call on each of us to examine our own consciences and interior lives if we in any way take cruel delight in these actions done in the name of our government and in the name of the security of our borders. Separating children from their mothers and fathers in an already traumatic time in their lives as immigrants seeking asylum is inhumane and morally wrong without due regard for the safety and protection of the children and informed consent of their parents."
