No Laws Against Immigrants

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)