and Board Chairman
Arizona, Georgia, Utah, and Alabama. In the past year we witnessed an unprecedented groundswell of anger, frustration and fear aimed at immigrants in our communities played out through local legislation. Those efforts do not fulfill the need for a major overhaul of our immigration laws, they only serve to divide families, neighbors and the nation.
For those of us in the immigrant justice field, this year has been filled with defeats and celebrations. In spite of the challenges, we remain united in this work by our desire to serve the migrants, honoring their dignity and offering our respect. We hope for all to have a life in which one’s daily work serves to sustain the family and a life where poverty, oppression, suffering, and violence are things of the past.
Our network numbers more than 200 non profit service providers supporting low income and other vulnerable immigrants. It speaks the truth, is driven by charity, and stands for justice. As Pope Benedict XVI explains in his encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth), “charity goes beyond justice, because to love is to give…justice is inseparable from charity and intrinsic to it…charity demands justice: recognition and respect for the legitimate rights of individuals and peoples.” Every day, CLINIC’s network performs acts of charity, while demanding justice by giving a voice to the voiceless.
Whether preparing an application for a victim of domestic violence, representing a child facing deportation, seeking relief for an asylum seeker, or trying to reunite a family, CLINIC’s network speaks someone’s truth every day. It is only through that selfless exercise that we change our social and political institutions to embrace the higher call of love and respect for humanity.
This year we again offer our gratitude to the dedicated and driven staff of CLINIC for their vision and devotion to our mission to enhance and expand the delivery of legal services to low income and vulnerable immigrants and to meet the immigration needs identified by the Catholic Church. What follows in this report is only a portion of the success and advancement that CLINIC has had in 2010. We are grateful to the staff and the network for these many efforts and all that they do each day to bring the truth to light.
Whether you are an advocate, a donor, an immigrant, a parishioner or someone new to the immigration debate, we offer this challenge: practice your charity in truth. Teach others that charity and justice go hand in hand. In this world where secular arguments dominate the immigration debate, continue to share your light and your love. Because those truths are the seeds that will yield compassion – those stories will remind everyone that human suffering must not go unnoticed; that mothers and fathers shouldn’t be separated from their children; that parents should be able to lift their children out of poverty; and that those who flee persecution or devastation should be able to find a safe haven in our great country. Together, we stand for that and more.
Most sincerely,
Maria M. Odom
Executive Director
CLINIC
Most Rev. Richard Garcia
Bishop of Monterrey
Chairman, CLINIC Board of Directors
