Submitted by the New Mexico Conference of Catholic Bishops
Immigration has become a top issue of concern for many Americans, including Catholics, engendering strong emotions on both sides of the immigration debate. Despite the nation’s long, and primarily positive, experience with newcomers, in which we have welcomed people to our shores for generations, immigration remains a complicated and challenging issue for the country.
While the Statue of Liberty is emblematic of immigration policies that have given immigrants a new lease on life and made our country great, we continue to witness tragic failures in our immigration policy that have put those fleeing injustice, persecution, and crime at great risk. Moreover, our failure to enact comprehensive immigration reform has weakened the moral fiber of our society.
From the Catholic Church’s experience in working with migrants and refugees, we find that many who arrive to our nation are forced to migrate because of oppression and persecution. They are victims of smugglers, human traffickers, and drug cartels. They suffer severe economic hardship and simply want to support their families with dignity. Most are not electing to migrate on a whim but are forced migrants, fleeing intolerable and inhumane conditions.
At the same time, we acknowledge that, as with any group, there are those who come for nefarious reasons and who commit violent crimes, and that Americans should be protected from these people. Likewise, we agree that a sovereign country has the right to manage its borders, albeit in a manner which protects human rights and dignity.
As a result, we, the bishops of New Mexico–a state which shares a border with Mexico–agree with most Americans that our immigration system is broken and is in need of reform, including how the situations of the persecuted and downtrodden arriving at the US-Mexico border are addressed. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has long recognized the human suffering of the migrant and has called for the United States to adopt a just and sensible immigration policy.
While we need to fix a broken system, policies that ignore the human rights of those who come to the border and undermine human dignity are not the way to fix things. While it is true that sovereign nations have a right and a responsibility to control their borders, this is not an absolute right, as the management of borders must be accompanied with humane treatment and due process protections. We can achieve both goals: the protection of human rights and the security of the border and the nation.
We believe, however, that a mass deportation policy will not fix the broken immigration system but, rather, create chaos, family separation, and the traumatization of children. While removing those who cause harm to us is necessary, deporting immigrants who have built equities in our communities and pose no threat is contrary to humanitarian principles and to our national interest. We urge the new administration to rethink this proposed deportation policy and instead return to bipartisan negotiations to repair the US immigration system.
Let us be clear: we are pastors, not politicians, and we point to the moral and theological principles that should undergird good and just laws. We ask our elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels to embrace those moral principles that will create laws that honor the sanctity of human life and the dignity of each, unrepeatable human being.
As Scripture tells us, for those to whom much has been given, much is expected. We, the bishops of New Mexico, pray that the United States — our great nation under God — will continue to justly receive our fellow human beings into our country, recognizing the many gifts that are ours in the world of great human suffering.
We stand ready to work with the new administration on achieving immigration policies which are just, humane, and reflect the values of America. Please join us in praying for the protection, well-being, and safety of our immigrant brothers and sisters.
Signed,
Most Reverend James S. Wall, Bishop of Gallup
Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe
Most Reverend Peter Baldacchino, Bishop of Las Cruces
