USCCB opposes 700-Mile Border Fence

In session
October 2006

Bishops urge comprehensive immigration reform
Congress urged to keep foreign aid focused on world's poor
NETWORK's Legislative Hot News
USCCB opposes 700-Mile Border Fence

USCCB opposes 700-Mile Border Fence
WASHINGTON (September 27, 2006)–In a letter to the Senate on behalf of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Bishop Gerald R. Barnes, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, urged all Senators to oppose H.R. 6061, the Secure Fence Act of 2006, and to enact comprehensive immigration reform legislation. Acknowledging the rights of all nations to secure their borders, Bishop Barnes said “the best way to secure the border is by enacting comprehensive immigration reform.”

(UPDATE: Despite the Bishops' opposition, the law was passed by the Senate and signed by President Bush on October 4.)

In the letter, Barnes said H.R. 6061 could contribute to smuggling-related violence along the border as well as lead to an increase in the number of migrant deaths. The letter also said the legislation would not solve the problem of illegal immigration and would send the wrong signal to Mexico, a peaceful neighbor of the United States, and the world community.

“We oppose H.R. 6061 because we believe it would not solve the problem of illegal immigration,” Barnes wrote. “Indeed, we believe it would create more problems than it would solve.” The Bishop said enactment of H.R. 6061 could “drive those seeking to cross the border to take more remote and dangerous routes, resulting in more unnecessary and tragic migrant deaths in the American desert.” Barnes cited a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report which chronicled an alarming rise in migrant deaths since a border crackdown by the government began over ten years ago.

Barnes added that H.R. 6061 could result in an increase in smuggling-related border violence. Pointing to a rise in such violence in recent years, he said the U.S. bishops were “troubled” that H.R. 6061 “would cause smugglers to redouble their efforts to penetrate open portions of the border, leading to more violence against Border Patrol agents, local police enforcement, and community residents.”

Barnes also expressed concern that the border fence contained in H.R. 6061 would be viewed in this hemisphere and overseas as “a sign of fear, weakness, and isolation, not strength and engagement.” “It also would undercut our moral authority to request other nations to accept war refugees, for example, or other vulnerable populations,” he said.

Back to page top