Catholic bishops from the United States and Mexico urged Presidents Bush and Vicente Fox on Friday to renew talks on immigration that stalled after the Sept. 11 attacks and enact reforms that "respect the human dignity" of immigrants.
The pastoral letter, considered a policy statement of the church, also is addressed to the 65 million U.S. Catholics and 90 million Mexican Catholics. It calls on members to respond better to migrants' needs through such efforts as training priests and church leaders to accompany migrants on their travels.
The letter is the first joint declaration by U.S. and Mexican bishops on any issue, said the Rev. Thomas Wenski, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' migration committee. The idea began two years ago with talks between bishops from Texas and Mexico border dioceses.
"The current immigration system between our two nations is broken and must be reformed. The consequences of this flawed system exploitation, abuse and even death of migrant persons are morally unacceptable," Wenski said.
Mexican bishops issued the letter Wednesday in Mexico City.
Wenski said the bishops in both countries hoped the letter would serve as the spark for the Bush and Fox administrations to start talks again on stemming illegal immigration through a temporary worker program.
The bishops gave a copy of their 49-page letter to a Bush aide Thursday and requested a meeting with the White House.
"The president remains committed to working with Mexico toward a more orderly, humane, safe and legal migration, as well as consideration of a new temporary worker program that provides some path to citizenship," said White House spokesman Taylor Gross. But he added, "It is important to strengthen border security and improve our immigration infrastructure to better support such a program."
The White House has not announced whether it plans any legislative proposals related to a temporary worker program.
The Sept. 11 attacks essentially shut down U.S.-Mexican discussions on immigration. The U.S. immigration system came under scrutiny because all 19 hijackers in the attacks had entered the United States on business, tourist or student visas.
But the bishops' statement said current migration trends are the result of the larger phenomenon of globalization in which laborers are going where jobs are available and U.S. and Mexican economies are intertwined.
Congress is unlikely to approve a large-scale immigration proposal until after the 2004 elections, said Frank Sharry, executive director of the National Immigration Forum, a pro-immigration group.
"President Bush is more likely to talk about it than push it for electoral reasons," Sharry said. But he said the bishops' letter brings a strong ally to the debate.
Among the letter's policy recommendations:
_Family-based immigration should be reformed to reduce backlogs and waiting times.
_The U.S. strategy of placing Border Patrol agents and vehicles at the border, known as Operation Gatekeeper, should be abandoned.
_Due process and detention laws should be reformed to protect human rights
_Pastoral services should be made more available to migrants.
_U.S. and Mexican Catholic dioceses should increase social services for migrants, including legal services.