The Latin American Catholic Bishops and the
United States of America, after the meeting on migration and human mobility
celebrated in Santo Domingo (see Fides.org 24/05/2012 and 31/05/2012) have condemned
the law defined "unfair" against immigration, proposals in the states of Arizona
and Alabama in the United States, which lead to xenophobia and undermine the
Church's right to serve migrants. Participants in the document drawn up after
the regional meeting, talk about the "terrible suffering" suffered by people
trying to enter the United States from Central America through Mexican
territory. "In Central America and throughout Mexico, migrants become prey for
organized criminals, in particular suffering the crime of kidnapping to extort
money from their families," said the Bishops and participants in the meeting,
recalling the recent killings of illegal immigrants that occurred in Mexican
cities near the border with the United States. They also complained that human
trafficking and sexual slavery and labor, especially children and women is
increasing in this area. "We are concerned about the situation of unaccompanied
children, separated from their families, subject to this journey with many
risks, and the dramatic increase of deportations from the United States and
Mexico, which led to an even greater separation of families" they denounce .
Critics have also been expressed to the Government of the United States for the
application of immigration laws, "that lead to the abuse of fundamental rights
and the unjust proposed state laws, such as Arizona and Alabama, result of the
fear due to the presence of migrants." The document concludes by reiterating the
desire to continue efforts to achieve comprehensive immigration reform in the
United States that respects the rights of migrants, avoiding the separation of
families and reducing deportations. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 01/06/2012)
