Latest news with #ThereseBangert
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lone Catholic nun stands before Kansas House to oppose immigration enforcement resolution
Sister Therese Bangert of the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth offered the only in-person testimony during a Kansas House committee hearing on a resolution directed Gov. Laura Kelly to support President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement agenda. No one spoke in favor of the resolution. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA — Sister Therese Bangert stood alone before the House Federal and State Affairs Committee to denounce a resolution urging Gov. Laura Kelly to do everything in her power to support the immigration enforcement agenda of President Donald Trump. Bangert, who has been with the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth for more than 60 years, said the nation's immigration system had been broken for decades. By default, she said, the federal government had allowed migrant laborers to fill jobs in the United States without extending to those individuals an accessible path to legal residency or citizenship. She said people targeted by the Kansas Senate-approved resolution were Kansans in every way except for possession of U.S. immigration documents. 'I suspect these are the immigrant women who are milking cows in the western Kansas dairy industry, the men and women on the killing floors of Kansas slaughterhouses and those roofing the homes in my neighborhood,' said Bangert, who was worried they were all vulnerable to deportation. 'I find troubling the heated rhetoric when speaking about our sisters and brothers who are immigrants.' No one showed up at the House hearing to argue in favor of Senate Concurrent Resolution 1602. Likewise, there was no one present to articulate a neutral position. Wichita Republican Rep. Tom Kessler, chairman of the House committee, said written testimony lauding the resolution had been submitted, but it wasn't publicly available. When the Senate conducted its hearing in January on the resolution, Bangert wasn't given the opportunity to speak to lawmakers. Sen. Mike Thompson, chairman of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee and sponsor of the resolution, said Bangert needed to notify the committee 24 hours in advance to be granted permission to testify. Proponents of the measure, including Attorney General Kris Kobach, were permitted to address Thompson's committee. The Senate went on to approve the resolution on a party-line vote of 31-9. It was expected to pass the House by a wide margin. During the House committee hearing, Rep. Susan Ruiz, D-Shawnee, noted the absence of a throng of in-person witnesses to argue on behalf of the Senate resolution. 'There is no one here as a proponent, which I find really odd,' Ruiz said. The void was partially filled by Republicans on the House committee who offered commentary demonstrating their sense that Kansas governors ought to authorize use of state resources to help patrol the national border, including deploying Kansas National Guard troops, and to assist with Trump's strategy of detaining and deporting thousands or millions of people. There was no evidence of support for a concurrent crackdown on Kansas businesses hiring people without proper documentation. Rep. Brian Bergkamp, R-Wichita, said the state and nation needed a higher standard of border security to address immigration among people without permission to remain temporarily or permanently in the United States. The security concept mirrored justification for a metal-detector at the main entrance to the Capitol instead of relying on an antiquated open-door policy for visitors, he said. 'I definitely stand for immigration,' Bergkamp said, 'but in a more orderly fashion.' GOP Rep. Kyle McNorton of Topeka said it was wrong for anyone to view people in the country without permission as law-abiding individuals. 'They broke the number one law coming across our border without permission and are still here,' McNorton said. In response, Wichita Democratic Rep. Angela Martinez said the majority of people in the United States without authorization had overstayed a Visa rather than enter by sneaking across the border in defiance of immigration authorities. 'I support the deportation of criminals,' said Martinez, who was temporarily placed on the committee to coincide with debate on the resolution. 'I ask this committee to sit and be honest with yourself. If you were subject to violence and tyranny and you couldn't support your children and there was an opportunity for a better life … would you go?' Rep. John Alcala, a Topeka Democrat among temporary appointments to the committee, said proponents of the resolution hadn't taken into account economic harm that would fall on Kansas if full deportation occurred. He said the National Immigration Law Center estimated Kansas' workforce was comprised of thousands of people without documents to stay in the United States. He said an NILC study indicated there were 25,000 in manufacturing, 17,000 in food service and 16,000 in construction. In 2020, he said, NILC estimated those workers paid more than $600 million in state and federal taxes. 'I don't think people realize what the impact will be on businesses that are struggling with labor shortages,' Alcala said. 'How are we going to offset that economic loss? Can Kansas afford that loss of revenue? I don't think so.' Lawrence Rep. Brooklynne Mosley, a Democrat, said issues of human dignity and moral injury might not have been considered by champions of the resolution. 'What does that do to the cloth of a community when they start to see families being ripped apart?' she said.
Yahoo
26-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kansas Sen. Mike Thompson didn't let nun speak on immigration. Here's her testimony
On Jan. 21, Kansas state Sen. Mike Thompson called a hearing of the state Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee about Senate Continuing Resolution 1602, which concerns immigration. Sister Therese Bangert of the Catholic Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth attended the hearing to speak on concerns about the legislation. Thompson did not let her take the floor, saying: 'We typically ask for somebody to give, for sake of time management, to give us a 24-hour notice. It's on our conferee rules.' The hearing had not been announced publicly until the evening before.. Here are Sister Bangert's comments, which she was invited to submit to the committee in written form: Chair Thompson and Committee, Thank you for the opportunity to make comments about S.C.R. No. 1602. I am Sister Therese Bangert, a Sister of Charity of Leavenworth for 61 years, and for 38 of those years I have lobbied in the Kansas Legislature. I apologize if my interruption at Thursday's meeting offended anyone. It is the first time in my 38 years that I have done that. I know parts of the legislative process well and the fairness of timely notice of issues being covered in committees is one. I know that this is the beginning of the session so certain processes can get overlooked and lost. I look forward to getting to know the new senators — Senators Barnes and Murphy — and I welcome you to this very important work. First, I want to be clear that I agree that we have a broken immigration system and I, along with the Catholic Church that is my faith home, have advocated with our federal lawmakers for years asking them to pass comprehensive immigration reform. The no-system that is currently in place has enabled essential workers to work in Kansas but not have a legal way to enter. I suspect these are the immigrant women milking cows in the western Kansas dairies, men and women on the killing floors in the Kansas slaughterhouses and those roofing the homes in my neighborhood. Line 13 of the resolution states that 'the priority of this massive operation will include the deportation of illegal immigrants who have committed crimes.' If I am reading this correctly, deportation will also 'include' the women who are milking the cows but do not have work permits. That is a concern that I bring. Lines 5 and 6 on page 2 of the resolution state, 'fostering a legal immigration system that meets the needs of the state and our country.' I hope that fostering this legal immigration system will include the law-abiding immigrants in our country who are Kansans in every way but for papers. Personally, I find troubling the heated rhetoric used when speaking about our sisters and brothers that are immigrants/the aliens Jesus speaks of in the Gospel. At times the language is dehumanizing. The immigrants I know are family values people who want the same things for their children that I want for my son, nieces and nephews. They are people of faith who work hard and long hours. I witness them being builders and rebuilders. Again, I want Kansas authorities to have the tools they need to address those who are violent criminals. I close with a quote from the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth's Community Stance in 2011: While acknowledging the right of the United States to control its borders and that the issue of immigration is complex, we also recognize the suffering caused to separated families, exploited workers and those forced to flee from their homelands by poverty, hunger and other forms of violence. In light of our mission statement, we, the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth, call for comprehensive immigration reform in our country. Thank you for hearing me, and Peace. Sister Therese Bangert is social justice coordinator for the Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth.
