Mexico should stop playing "the role of policeman and intermediary" for the U.S. government and promote immigration reform that benefits our fellow citizens, including the Central Americans passing through Mexico, said Alejandro Solalinde, director of the Brothers on the Way shelter [in Oaxaca].
In a video conference from Iberoamerican University in Tijuana, he said that the Caravan Opening Doors to Hope, which he heads and which will tour various states of the U.S. starting this April 30, is intended to make the argument to lawmakers of that nation regarding the urgency and need to endorse immigration reform that permits Mexicans and Central Americans to work seasonally in the United States.
This reform, he said, could regulate the income of people with temporary permits and would mainly benefit the United States.
The priest said that a comprehensive solution to the immigration issue is required.
"It would be shortsighted and also an injustice for the U.S. to respond with more security on the border with Mexico and insist on the implementation of policies of criminalization."In company with members of the Integrated Humanitarian Coalition for Migrants, he said that another purpose of the caravan is to sensitize the white population regarding unfair treatment and violations suffered by migrants in the United States and in Mexico.
He cited cases of Central American women who are victims of trafficking, sexual exploitation and slavery by members of organized crime, who also are forced to drink and use drugs.
To his academic audience, he proposed promoting a comprehensive development plan which involved various sectors, including federal and local authorities, churches, private and other sectors of Mexico, the United States and Canada, in order to fight for flexible immigration reform.
Solalinde also said that it is time to change both the priorities of the Catholic Church and of society as a whole:
"It is necessary to transform the current immoral, predatory and environmentally destructive system, and instead of giving priority to money and material things, prioritize human well-being."Spanish original