Washington D.C., May 26, 2016 / 14:07 pm
Renewed immigration raids against women and children fail to recognize the severity of situations faced by migrants, who leave Central America to escape death, the U.S. bishops said.
"Sending women and children back to Central America will not serve as an effective deterrent to migration because this is a humanitarian crisis and individuals from the region are being forced to flee for their lives," Bishop Eusebio Elizondo said May 25.
Bishop Elizondo is an auxiliary bishop of Seattle and chairman of the U.S. bishops' Committee on Migration.
"These operations spark panic among our parishes," the bishop continued. "No person, migrant or otherwise, should have to fear leaving their home to attend church or school. No person should have to fear being torn away from their family and returned to danger."