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In the case of immigration, the U.S. bishops believe that the broken U.S. immigration system contributes to the exploitation of migrant workers in the workplace; their abuse by ruthless smugglers; and their deaths in the desert as they seek to find work to support their families. They come illegally because there are insufficient visas under the current system to come legally. Our system contains only 5,000 permanent visas for unskilled laborers to come to the United States, but the demand for their work is much higher, since as many as 300,000 undocumented people each year are absorbed into the U.S. workforce.

With the official unemployment rate at almost 10% and unofficial ( and likely more accurate) estimates even higher, the very last thing the US needs is more imported workers, skilled or not. The bishop cannot be unaware of this. But as usual, he blames America for the unlawful actions of others. If foreigners break our laws, it is because our laws are unjust. You see, America is always to blame. by this reasoning, if I steal my neighbors car, it's his fault for not giving me money to buy one of my own.