NEW YORK – At the conclusion of a recent meeting of the Texas-Mexico border bishops, the participating prelates highlighted the importance of the partnership between the Church and federal government on migration, and their commitment to serving migrants and refugees.

The first of the bi-annual meetings was held from Feb. 26-28 at Assumption Seminary in San Antonio. The focus of this year’s meeting, amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation plans and cancellation of migrant and refugee resettlement funding, was the situation of migrants and refugees.

In their message at the end of the meeting, the prelates noted that the Church “has always been a reliable partner of our governments” in helping the vulnerable who arrive to the United States. They also emphasized the co-responsibility the sides share, and the need for immigration reform.

“We are all responsible in promoting the common good, simultaneously safeguarding the dignity of all by finding the right balance between various human rights, such as the right of the workers and their families to have their situation regularized, the right not to be exploited, the right to migrate, the right not to need to migrate, and the right of all to have their government guarantee security in their own country,” the prelates said in their message.

“For decades, we have expressed our concern that in the United States we have a broken immigration system, which does not correspond to the present reality,” they continued. “We hope and strongly urge our political leaders to fulfill their duty to reform it.”

From the American side, the meeting was attended by Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio, Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Bishop Daniel Flores of Brownsville, Bishop Michael Sis of San Angelo, Bishop James Tamayo of Laredo, Bishop Bredan Cahill of Victoria, Bishop Emeritus Michael Pfeifer of San Angelo, Auxiliary Bishops Gary Janak and Michael Boulette of San Antonio, and Auxiliary Bishop Mario Avilés of Brownsville.

From the Mexican side, the meeting was attended by Bishop J. Guadalupe Torres Campos of Ciudad Juárez, Bishop Alfonso Miranda Guardiola of Piedras Negras, Bishop Hilario Gonzalez Garcia of Saltillo, Bishop Eugenio Andrés Lira Rugarcía of Matamoros-Reynosa, and Bishop Emeritus Alonso Garza Treviño of Piedras Negras.

In the message, the prelates also noted their commitment to serving migrants and refugees.

“To our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters, we want to say that the Church and its agencies remain committed to the mission of announcing the Gospel, providing living witness to the charity of the Lord Jesus by serving all people with dignity and compassion,” the prelates said.

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