Bishops Express Concern for C.A. Emigrant Rights

VILLAHERMOSA,Mexico – While the Mexican government exerts itself on behalf of respect for the rights of undocumented immigrants in the United States, Catholic bishops here are expressing concern about abuse, by police and by criminals, of Central American immigrants in southern Mexico.

Bishops from Central America, the United States and Mexico told Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez on Wednesday that they were concerned about what has been described as chronic mistreatment of migrants.

The bishops from Costa Rica, the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala and Mexico, who met this week in the southern Mexican state of Tabasco, on the border with Guatemala, addressed the issue with Derbez after touring the region.

The information provided by the bishops will allow the Mexican government to better understand the situation and prevent abuses from being committed against people entering Mexican territory, most of them bound for the United States, Derbez said.