Washington D.C., Feb 17, 2008 / 13:10 pm
Two United States Catholic bishops involved in immigration issues have written to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to express their concern about the protocols and the increased law enforcement activity of Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE).
The bishops asked the agency to adopt policies that would assist the families and communities affected by immigration enforcement actions. They also asked that the agency refrain from conducting enforcement actions at or near churches, hospitals, schools, or charitable organizations.
Bishop of Salt Lake City John Wester, Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, and Bishop Jaime Soto, coadjutor bishop of Sacramento and Chairman of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, wrote the letter requesting policy changes to Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff and his undersecretary Julie Meyers.
“Although ICE has recently issued guidance regarding worksite enforcement operations, we believe that the guidance falls short of what is necessary," the bishops wrote.