Religious leaders from throughout the state, at a press conference in Los Angeles May 18, denounced recent anti-immigrant rhetoric and called for a “face-to-face dialogue” with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to discuss proposals for immigration reform.

Sacramento Auxiliary Bishop Richard J. Garcia and Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Gabino Zavala, reading a statement on behalf of Los Angeles Cardinal Roger Mahony, urged the governor to “embrace the moral high ground” and meet with religious leaders to discuss “how we can bring both moral and political values to bear on the complex issue of immigration reform.”

The governor, who is Catholic, made comments in an April 28 radio interview in Los Angeles in support of the Minutemen, an armed group of citizens patrolling the Arizona border in search of illegal immigrants.

The Minutemen are expected to begin patrolling the California border in June. The governor also noted in the interview that he did not blame impoverished Mexicans who want to come to the United States.

The governor’s recent remarks targeting undocumented immigrants “run against the grain of American values and his own religious tradition,” according to Cardinal Mahony’s statement.

The statement said the governor’s endorsement of the Real ID Act in Congress, his criticism of the Matricula Consular Identification Card, the ridicule of desert water stations installed as life-saving measures, and his praise of the Minutemen, “are all in direct contradiction to the social teachings of the Catholic Church and contrary to the dignity of our democratic traditions.”

Cardinal Mahony said religious leaders shared “common ground” with Gov. Schwarzenegger in acknowledging that comprehensive immigration reform is overdue and that federal legislation is needed to provide a path to permanent legal status for undocumented workers and their families.

Bishop Garcia joined in the press conference with religious leaders from Episcopal, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian, Methodist, Catholic and Jewish congregations. He is concerned about the governor’s recent remarks because “we need the people who come here from Mexico to work and we all need to be more tolerant.”

“I’m greatly concerned about abuses against immigrants. We have to be a voice for the voiceless,” the bishop said.

“Many of the people who come to our diocese work in the migrant camps from May to October to help us with crops,” he added. “We would be hopelessly lost without them. One of my fears is what will happen to our economy if we get stricter on the border. These poor people struggle to make a living in the months they are here — why not respect them and treasure their presence?”

The action by some of California’s religious leaders comes on the heels of a nationwide drive, launched by America’s Catholic bishops and lay groups May 10, aimed at legalizing millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States and educating congregations about church teachings on immigration.

Citing reasons as broad as Catholic teaching about the right to migrate to improve one’s life and as narrow as one Guyana emigrant’s need to support his family, more than a dozen church organizations and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops launched a campaign called Justice for Immigrants.

The program is intended to educate the public, and Catholics in particular, about how immigration and immigrants benefit the nation; to improve public opinion about the contributions of immigrants; to advocate for changes in immigration laws and policies; and to organize networks that assist immigrants with legal problems.

Washington Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, a consultant to the USCCB’s Committee on Migration, said at a press conference announcing the campaign that the bishops “have grown increasingly disturbed by the current public discourse surrounding immigrants, in which newcomers are characterized as a threat to our nation and not a benefit.”

“Anti-immigrant fervor on TV and radio shows, citizens attempting to enforce immigration laws, and, most disturbingly, the enactment of restrictive immigration laws are evidence of this negative public environment,” he said.

He said those in ministry at parishes, schools, hospitals and social service agencies see the effects of that environment daily — in families kept apart by years of waiting for visas and by deportations or detention policies.

Cardinal McCarrick said that, as President George W. Bush and others have acknowledged, “our immigration system is broken and badly needs repair.”

He praised Bush for saying changes need to be made to the U.S. immigration system and policies.

“If he hadn’t begun the conversation, this issue wouldn’t be on the table,” he said. But the president’s proposal for a guest worker program that includes options for those already here to legalize their status “doesn’t really touch those family issues,” Cardinal McCarrick said.

The concerns of separated families are at the core of the church’s campaign, he said. “One of the goals of our campaign is to try to change those laws so that immigrants can support their families in dignity, families can remain united and the human rights of all are respected.”

But before laws can be changed, the cardinal acknowledged, “we must change attitudes, including those of many of our own flock.”

Bishop James A. Tamayo of Laredo, Texas, said it is crucial that people understand immigrants are contributing to the success of the United States, “they’re paying taxes, they’re helping us develop and grow.”

Instead of treating immigrants as scapegoats for terrorist attacks or other problems in society, Bishop Tamayo said people need to be taught the church’s moral reasoning for supporting immigrants.

Some people came into the United States illegally when “they couldn’t get through the system because of its abuses or because it just needs repairing,” he noted. “They’re also crying out for justice and need our help.”

Bishop Tamayo told Catholic News Service after the press conference that in his diocese on the U.S.-Mexican border people are used to seeing the area, regardless of the border, as one big community.

But he recognizes that elsewhere in the country people are not quite so ready to think of immigrants as “our brothers in Christ” or to share Pope John Paul II’s vision of a “church without borders,” as enunciated in “Ecclesia in America,” a 1999 apostolic exhortation.

The Justice for Immigrants campaign will use parish-based educational materials to address that problem.

Leo Anchondo, national manager of the campaign, said parishes nationwide will be receiving materials such as sermon ideas, background information and suggestions for parish activities.

Cardinal McCarrick said just as Catholics have begun to shift away from their support for the death penalty as information about its flaws has become understood so will the anti-immigrant views begin to fade as people begin to hear another side of the story.

“Ten, 20 years ago, the vast majority of people approved the use of the death penalty,” he said. “Now it’s closer to 50-50.”

By putting human faces on the issues of immigration and explaining the failings of the system, he said, “we will try to raise the level of consciousness of the public and of Catholic people.”

Several USCCB offices are part of the campaign: Migration and Refugee Services, the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, the Office of Domestic Social Development, the Office of International Justice and Peace, the Secretariat for Hispanic Affairs and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc.

Other organizations involved in Justice for Immigrants include: the Catholic Health Association, Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Relief Services, the National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors of Hispanic Ministry, the National Council of Catholic Women, the National Catholic Educational Association, the U.S. Jesuit Conference, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, the Conference of Major Superiors of Men, the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors, the Catholic Migrant Farmworker Network, Irish Apostolate USA and Roundtable, an association of diocesan social action directors.

Information about Justice for Immigrants is available on the campaign’s Web sites: www.justiceforimmigrants.org and www.justiciaparalosinmigrantes.org.

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