Ten years after the passage of Proposition 187, the immigration issue remains a volatile subject, particularly after Sept. 11, 2001.

And with good reason. Prop. 187 --- which would have denied government services to anyone suspected of being undocumented --- was supported by many people, Catholic and otherwise, who (or whose families) immigrated legally to this country, and who wonder, quite logically, why anyone who wants to immigrate can't do it legally. And why those who break the law shouldn't suffer the consequences. The measure's subsequent overturning in the courts hardly assuaged their feelings.

(Of course, what is legal in the eyes of society and what is morally right in the eyes of the church don't always match, as those of us who oppose abortion should know. It would be interesting to ponder how many of those who oppose the "legality" of abortion also supported the "legality" of Prop. 187.)

The recent effort to make driver's licenses obtainable (legal) for undocumented individuals has again brought forth vociferous response from those who believe that anyone entering the country illegally deserves no rights other than the right to be shipped back to his/her country of origin, ASAP. There are, of course, differences of opinion on this policy issue, which people of good will can legitimately express.

But there is a more disturbing, not necessarily underlying, component of this latest skirmish: the continued reference by some to undocumented people as "illegals," as in, "Send the illegals back where they came from," or "Illegals don't have rights." Some letter-writers to The Tidings have used that phrase, and a few have expressed indignation at why it gets edited out.

Here's why, as articulated by Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala during the height of the 1994 debate over Prop. 187: "Jesus," said Bishop Zavala, "did not see people as legal or illegal, but as people with dignity who deserve respect."

It's that simple. Yes, people break the law, people do things that are illegal. But people are not illegal; they are God's creation. As Catholics, we believe that God is the Maker of all creation, that "all life, all holiness" comes from God, as those of us who oppose abortion insist. That life, that holiness, that dignity is God's to give --- not ours. And if this is what we believe, who are we to destroy what God has created, or to deny the God-given dignity in our fellow human beings?

Or, as the Catechism of the Catholic Church (n. 308) states: "The truth that God is at work in all the actions of his creatures is inseparable from faith in God the Creator. God is the first cause who operates in and through secondary causes: 'For God is at work in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure'" (Philippians 2: 13).

Last weekend, we heard the challenging teaching from St. Luke's Gospel about who our neighbor is. The Samaritan who helped the beaten stranger (when the allegedly upstanding righteous and religious would not) did not ask the stranger his religion, his race, his country of origin; he simply gave aid and comfort. That, Jesus tells us, is what you must do if you are going to be his disciple.

It's not the message most of us want to hear, but that doesn't make it any less necessary. If we believe what Jesus says, we darn well do have to give comfort and aid to the stranger in need, the alien, who is also our neighbor. That begins with recognizing his or her dignity as a creation of God.

We each may break the law, may err, may sin, may do great harm. But we all remain God's children, regardless of where we came from, regardless of how we got here. Let us at least acknowledge that much.

--Mike Nelson