Boston cardinal says U.S. needs ’more humane’ policy on immigration

BOSTON (CNS) -- After federal immigration officials spirited away to Texas nearly half of the 327 people arrested in a March 6 raid on a New Bedford handbag and backpack factory, Cardinal Sean P. O’Malley of Boston called for “some kind of comprehensive immigration reform.” “While immigration reform is urgent, the needs of the women and children in New Bedford are desperate,” Cardinal O’Malley said in the March 15 Boston Globe in an opinion piece titled “A more humane immigration policy.” According to news reports, Massachusetts officials, including Gov. Deval Patrick, were angered that before caseworkers from the state Department of Social Services were allowed to speak to detainees to determine whether any of those arrested had left children behind at home or school, almost half of the detainees were flown to Texas March 8. Federal officials refused to share with the state a list of those detained, and have refused requests by the state to halt additional flights. “I hope our first priority is the families who were impacted, not a search for the villains,” Cardinal O’Malley said.