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You are invited to participate in our Zoom webinar on Thursday night, Jan. 30, for a short update and time for Q & A on our current issues of interest. It’s scheduled for 7 p.m. Register here.

Smuggling bill passes subcommittee

HSB 15 passed a subcommittee on Jan. 22 and is eligible for consideration by the House Judiciary Committee. The bill creates a new state crime of smuggling when a person knowingly conceals an undocumented person from law enforcement, or encourages or induces an undocumented person to enter or remain in the U.S. The ICC opposes the bill.

Safeguarding American communities and upholding the rule of law are laudable goals. However, it is already against federal and state law to traffic in humans. We are also concerned the bill could be interpreted to criminalize providing basic charity to immigrants by overzealous authorities. We have seen authorities in at least one state attempt to shut down some Catholic ministries that were helping migrants.

We appreciate the language in HSB 15 that, for an offense to be committed, would require the person to knowingly be smuggling for payment or some other benefit.

Several bills supported by the ICC passed a subcommittee:

  • SSB 1012 would allocate a million dollars to support “Double Up Food Bucks.” This would provide matching funds for SNAP (food stamp) benefits spent on fruits and vegetables. This helps promote healthy eating and Iowa’s small farmers too.
  • SSB 1028 requires schools to present an ultrasound video to students that shows the presence of the brain, heart, and other vital organs in early fetal development, as well as a computer-generated age-appropriate video that shows prenatal human development throughout every stage of pregnancy. We think this will help students understand the beauty of a baby’s early days.
  • HF 1 provides that public schools accept nonpublic school students for an activity if the nonpublic school does not offer the activity. This is in response to some public school districts ending participation agreements with nonpublic schools after the passage of Education Savings Accounts.

Response to executive orders

Upon taking office President Trump issued many executive orders. In response, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), offered the following statement, in part: “Many of the issues President Trump addresses in his recent Executive Orders, along with what may be issued in the coming days, are matters on which the Church has much to offer. Some provisions contained in the Executive Orders, such as those focused on the treatment of immigrants and refugees, foreign aid, expansion of the death penalty, and the environment, are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us. Other provisions in the Executive Orders can be seen in a more positive light, such as recognizing the truth about each human person as male or female.”

Following that statement, Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, said:

“The Catholic Church is committed to defending the sanctity of every human life and the God-given dignity of each person, regardless of nationality or immigration status. Church teaching recognizes a country’s right and responsibility to promote public order, safety, and security through well-regulated borders and just limits on immigration …

“While an emphasis on anti-trafficking is welcomed, several of the executive orders signed by President Trump this week are specifically intended to eviscerate humanitarian protections enshrined in federal law and undermine due process, subjecting vulnerable families and children to grave danger. The open-ended deployment of military assets to support civil immigration enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border is especially concerning … Likewise, indefinitely halting refugee resettlement is unmerited, as it is already proven to be one of the most secure legal pathways to the United States.”

For current Congressional action alerts from the U.S. Catholic bishops, go to www.votervoice.net/usccb/home.

Infanticide bill fails to advance

The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to pass the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (H.R.21), while the Senate failed to overcome the 60-vote procedural threshold for its version (S.6). The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act would require health care providers to give children born alive after an attempted abortion the same medical care that they would for any child born at that same gestational age and to transport them to a hospital.