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| Great Jubilee News | |
| ARGENTINE BISHOPS SAY JUBILEE SHOULD INCLUDE IMMIGRANTS |
BUENOS AIRES (CWNews.com) - Bishop Ruben Frassia, head of the Migration and Tourism Commission of the Argentine Bishops' Conference, said that tens of thousand of illegal immigrants should also be included in a Jubilee amnesty. "The bishops expect from the government a wide and generous amnesty for those undocumented immigrants who have come to Argentina looking for a better life," said Bishop Frassia at the end of a meeting on migration held in the Andean city of Bariloche, popular with tourists, from July 17 to 19. Bishop Frassia explained that the Argentine Bishops Conference presented a proposal to the government requesting amnesty "for those foreigners without documents that have been living in Argentina, not for those to come." He added, "This measure, feared by some, would be a fraternal gesture to our brothers and sisters, but also important for our country, because it would incorporate in society, the economy, and the culture a large number of inhabitants." At least 300,000 illegal immigrants, mostly Bolivians, Paraguayans, and Peruvians, live and work in the cities of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, La Plata, and Rosario. Many of them work at sweatshops run by foreigners under conditions near slavery. "We would turn these people into citizens and legal workers capable of protecting themselves and their families under the law and contributing to the formal economy with their work and their taxes," the bishop said. Noel Breard, head of the Immigration Service, who was also attending the meeting in Bariloche, said that the government is considering the bishops' request and will come up with an answer "in less than a month." |
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