Ray Mariano: 'Cabrini' provides timely lessons about immigrants
It’s not the kind of movie I would typically go and see. It doesn’t star Liam Neeson, Al Pacino or Keanu Reeves. And no one is wearing a cape dressed like a large bat. But I knew the story of Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini and the movie trailer that I watched seemed interesting. So, on a rainy day, I took a chance and went to the theater to see "Cabrini." I’m glad I did.
More than once, the movie had my emotions bubbling to the surface. At some points, I felt anger. At other points in the movie, I could feel tears welling up in my eyes.
Born in 1850, Mother Cabrini repeatedly asked the pope for permission to go to China to minister to the poor. Instead, the pope sent her and seven other nuns to America to serve Italian immigrants. When she got to New York, she found a destitute immigrant population who were being treated like animals. At every turn, she found roadblocks because the people that she sought to serve were seen as subhuman — called vile names and expected to live apart from the good people of the community in conditions barely suitable for livestock.
Even the local Catholic Church lined up against her simply because the people she served were viewed as undesirable. But, Mother Cabrini was undaunted. By the time of her death, Cabrini and the devoted group of nuns that she led — the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus — had founded 67 schools, hospitals and orphanages to serve the sick and poor across the United States, Latin America and Europe.
Following her death, Mother Cabrini, who had become an American citizen, became the first U.S. citizen to be canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church. Today, she is considered the patron saint of immigrants.
The story of immigrants
"Cabrini" is the story about a remarkable woman and the Italian immigrants whom she served in New York City. As I watched the movie, I thought of my grandfather and the stories that I had been told about the names that he was called — dago, wop, greaseball and worse. It’s a story shared by the fathers and mothers of many of my friends who can trace their heritage to Italy.
But it’s also the story of immigrants from Ireland, Poland and so many other countries who crossed the Atlantic in search of a better life. They were treated poorly, called vulgar names, mocked and considered undesirable, subhuman.
As I thought about the movie, I thought about the way we talk about and treat new arrivals to America today.
Yes, I know some people will say that many of today’s immigrants are different because they came to America without the proper documentation. I understand the concern. But I would point out that many of the immigrants who came to America before 1917 — Italians, Irish, Polish, Greeks and others — came without official papers either. In fact, the American Jesuit Review theorizes that “Mother Cabrini herself most likely arrived without formal immigration documents.”
The Immigration Act of 1917, also known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act, was intended to prevent undesirables from immigrating to the United States. The act also formalized documentation required of immigrants.
Most of the immigrants who built America were considered undesirable when they came here. They were desperately poor, often illiterate, with only the most meager of belongings. As someone might say today, the countries they came from were “not sending their best.”
When our ancestors came to America, politicians and some journalists stereotyped them as inferior and out to steal American jobs. They were thought of as criminals. Sound familiar?
But a closer look paints a different picture. The U.S. Department of Justice compared the criminality of undocumented immigrants to native-born U.S. citizens. Their current findings show U.S. citizens are greater than two times more likely to be arrested for violent crimes, 2 ½ times more likely to be arrested for drug crimes and over four times more likely to be arrested for property crimes than unauthorized immigrants. Other studies produced similar results.
This column is not being written to justify the crisis at our country’s southern border. Almost everyone is forced to admit that the border is a mess and that we need to get it under control. And I’m not writing to suggest that we should just open our border and let anyone in. But the crisis at the border does not excuse the way we talk about those who are desperate to live here.
The anger that I felt watching the movie when I heard the vile names American leaders and citizens called Italian immigrants is anger I feel listening to today’s debate.
The deep sadness that I felt watching those poor, desperate people living in squalor in the movie is the sadness I feel today watching immigrants sleeping on the sidewalk.
Regardless of what you think about the immigration problems that we face in America today, the people who come here seeking a better life are not “animals.” They are people desperate for a better life. Sure, there are some who are criminals and they should be deported immediately. But the overwhelming majority of them came here desperate for a better life.
America was built on the backs of the poorest of the poor, the least educated and the most desperate. Today, some of their descendants torment new arrivals with the same disgraceful language and behavior that their forbears faced.
If our grandparents and great-grandparents could see and hear us, they would be ashamed of our behavior.
Email Raymond V. Mariano at rmariano.telegram@gmail.com. He served four terms as mayor of Worcester and previously served on the City Council and School Committee. He grew up in Great Brook Valley and holds degrees from Worcester State College and Clark University. He was most recently executive director of the Worcester Housing Authority. His column appears weekly in the Sunday Telegram.His endorsements do not necessarily reflect the position of the Telegram & Gazette.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Ray Mariano 'Cabrini' movie teaches timelty lesson on immigration
