Can Citizenship Be Earned?

In April 2008, the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University convened a group of ethicists, lawyers, and policy makers to draft a statement addressing the ethical issues at stake in the controversy over granting amnesty to undocumented immigrants in the United States. After an initial drafting session on April 24, the group then continued to refine a statement for the next several months. The statement finally appeared as an essay called "Can Citizenship Be Earned?" in the October 13, 2008, issue of America, the Jesuit newsweekly.

The participants in the drafting were:

Victor Adangba, S.J., Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley

Luis Calero, S.J., Department of Anthropology, Santa Clara University

Erica Dahl-Bredine, Catholic Relief Services Mexico

David DeCosse, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University

Pratheepan Gulasekaram, School of Law, Santa Clara University

Kirk Hanson, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University

Lois Lorentzen, Theology and Religious Studies Department, University of San Francisco

Mark McGregor, S.J., Gonzaga University

Lynette Parker, School of Law, Santa Clara University

Kevin Quinn, S.J., Ignatian Center and School of Law, Santa Clara University

Miriam Schulman, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University

Joseph Symkowick, Catholic Relief Services West

Fernando Zazueta, Attorney, San Jose, Calif.

The essay can be found on the website of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at:

http://scu.edu/ethics/practicing/focusareas/global_ethics/CanCitizenshipBeEarned.pdf

Please direct any questions or comments to David DeCosse at ddecosse@scu.edu

David DeCosse
Director of Campus Ethics Programs
Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
Santa Clara University

KJ