The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle, Bishop of Texas, writes:
As people of faith, we must pray to end the unjust conditions by protecting those who have come to us for aid and by enacting humane immigration reform. The story we’re writing about immigration in this age offends the dignity of a civil society, and it’s a legacy worth changing.
Texas, like all border states, pays a toll for detaining and incarcerating refugees. We must decrease the use of detention centers for immigrants and improve conditions by enacting clear, enforceable reforms that include rigorous medical treatment standards and increased access to pastoral care, legal counsel and legal orientation programs. The government should also expedite the release of individuals who pose no risk to the community, and it should expand the use of community-based detention alternatives, which are more humane and cost effective.
This is only the first in a suite of changes that are needed to build a more humane immigration system.
Read his full essay at TribTalk, a publication of the Texas Tribune.