wfn.org | U.S.-Mexico Border Deaths Demand Policy Change, Religious Leaders Say

[Carol Fouke <carolf@ncccusa.org>]

National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A.
Contact: NCC News, 212-870-2252; news@ncccusa.org <mailto:news@ncccusa.org>;
www.ncccusa.org
NCC6/11/2001 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

RELIGIOUS LEADERS CALL FOR CHANGE IN POLICIES THAT RESULT IN BORDER DEATHS

	June 11, 2001, WASHINGTON, D.C. - Leaders of 20 faith-based and human
rights groups including the Church World Service Immigration and Refugee
Program are putting responsibility for the deaths of thousands of men, women
and children crossing the Mexico/U.S. border largely on U.S. border
enforcement and immigration policies.

	"While our government pursues policies aimed at breaking down barriers to
trade and encouraging the integration of economies throughout North America,
it simultaneously attempts to physically close off our southern border from
the migrant flows generated by this process of integration," they point out
in an "open letter" sent to the White House and members of the U.S. House of
Representatives and Senate Judiciary Committees.

They call on the U.S. government to legalize economic migration, declaring,
"As people of faith, we cannot stand by and watch as our government
continues to implement a set of policies that result in the brutal,
invisible deaths of people engaging in an ancient human practice - a search
for a better life."

While condemning "the actions of immigrant smugglers who exploit people's
dreams of a better future for profit and often place them in situations of
mortal danger," they note that "smugglers do not operate in a void."
Restrictive U.S. immigration policies "fuel the business of human
 smuggling," they write, "and force migrants into the most remote and
dangerous border regions."

"Seeking to provide for one's family in Mexico is no crime," they say.  "In
fact, the labor of the 'undocumented' in this country has contributed
greatly to the economic growth of our economy in the past decades.  To end
the hypocrisy, independent worker visas should be created to allow migrants
to cross the border safely and legally and to work in the U.S. free from
exploitation and discrimination.  They should not be tied to particular
employers.  Employer sanctions should be repealed."

The full text of the letter, along with signatories, follows.

June 4, 2000

We, the undersigned leaders of faith-based and human rights groups, denounce
the horrific and unnecessary deaths of sixteen migrants in the Arizona
desert. We call for an immediate change in the border enforcement and
immigration policies that directly contributed to these deaths.

As we mourn the loss of these lives, we also mourn the thousands of men,
women, and children who have died invisible deaths crossing the Mexico/US
border in recent years. Many of these immigrants, who journeyed to the US in
hopes of constructing decent, dignified lives for themselves and their
families, are buried in unidentified graves. According to INS figures, in
the year 2000, migrant deaths rose to 369 on the US side alone.  We speak as
people of faith and US citizens to say that this loss of life is absolutely
unacceptable and to call attention to the underlying root causes.

Between 1993 and 2000, the US Border Patrol force in the southwest more than
doubled, from roughly 3,400 to 8,000 agents. The Border Patrol also adopted
aggressive strategies designed to crack down on traditional urban points of
entry in west Texas and southern California, with the effect of redirecting
those flows towards more remote and dangerous areas.

These border deterrence policies have taken a devastating human toll.
According to INS sources, nearly 2000 migrants have died crossing into the
US. As people of faith, we cannot stand by and watch as our government
continues to implement a set of policies that result in the brutal,
invisible deaths of people engaging in an ancient human practice - a search
for a better life.

We condemn the actions of the immigrant smugglers who exploit people's
dreams of a better future for profit and often place them in situations of
mortal danger. Because smugglers do not operate in a void, we are compelled
to speak to the structural conditions and policies of our own government
that fuel the business of human smuggling and force migrants into the most
remote and dangerous border regions.

While our government pursues policies aimed at breaking down barriers to
trade and encouraging the integration of economies throughout North America,
it simultaneously attempts to physically close off our southern border from
the migrant flows generated by this process of integration.

We must legalize economic migration. Our restrictive immigration laws are
also largely responsible for the tragedy continuously unfolding on our
border. Seeking to provide for one's family in Mexico is no crime. In fact,
the labor of the "undocumented" in this country has contributed greatly to
the economic growth of our economy in the past decades. To end the
hypocrisy, independent worker visas should be created to allow migrants to
cross the border safely and legally and to work in the U.S. free from
exploitation and discrimination. They should not be tied to particular
employers. Employer sanctions should be repealed.

As people of faith and conscience, we cannot stand by and watch as our
government continues to implement a set of policies that result in the
daily, brutal, invisible deaths of people seeking economic opportunity and
justice. We call on President Bush to make good on his promise to implement
more just immigration policies. We call on the Congress to enact legislation
that requires accountability from the U.S. Border Patrol regarding the
reported abuses and deaths. Finally, we call on all people of good will to
join us in accompanying our sisters and brothers by demanding a change in US
policy that will end these needless and brutal deaths.

Margaret Swedish
Director
Religious Task Force on
Central America and Mexico
Washington, DC

Janna Shadduck-Hernandez
National Representative
Refugee and Immigrant Issues
American Friends Service Committee
Philadelphia, PA

Michelle Markey
Centro Santa Catalina
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

Wendy Pomeroy
Director
Church World Service/ Immigration and Refugee Service
New York, NY

John Burger, SSC,
Regional Director
Columban Fathers, USA.

Mike Dodd
Director
Columban Fathers' Justice and Peace Office
Washington, DC

Barbara Gerlach and Cristina Espinel
Co-Chairs
Colombia Human Rights Committee
Washington, DC

Ann Butwell
Co-Coordinator
Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean
Washington, DC

Rev. Joaquin Figueroa
First Lutheran Church
Vista, CA

The Revs. Jesus Gallegos Blanco
and Mark Adams, Directors
Frontera de Cristo, Presbyterian Bi-National Border Ministry
Douglas, Arizona/Agua Prieta, Sonora

Rev. Sid L. Mohn
President
Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights
Chicago, IL

Rev. Dr. Robin Hoover
President
Humane Borders
Tucson, AZ

Mary Mollison, CSA
President
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Silver Spring, MD

Ralston H. Deffenbaugh, Jr.
President
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Baltimore, MD

J. Daryl Byler
Director
Mennonite Central Committee US, Washington Office
Washington, DC

Tom Hansen
Director
Mexico Solidarity Network
Washington, DC

Seamus P. Finn,  OMI
Director of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Office
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
Washington, DC

Marie Clarke
Co-Director
Quest for Peace/Quixote Center
Hyattsville, MD

Sisters of the Holy Names
NY Province Justice and Peace Committee
New York

Wes Callender
Director
Voices on the Border
Washington, DC