Source: The Arizona Republic
On April 20, 2004 The Arizona Republic reported, "Religious leaders representing about 1.5 million members of seven faiths in Arizona called Monday for immigration reform and opened their arms to migrants from Mexico and other Latin American countries. Led by Bishop Gerald Kicanas of the Catholic Diocese of Tucson, the group met at the state Capitol and called on government officials to: • Offer a guest worker program with paths to permanent residency and citizenship. • Look into ways to reunify divided families. • Re-evaluate border enforcement strategy. • Develop an employment-focused immigration program. • End inequities in environmental, economic and trade policies. The gathering was one of the largest by clergy ever on the issue, said Kathy Saile, who runs the Phoenix Roman Catholic Diocese's Office of Peace and Justice. About 300 people, nearly half of them clergy, attended. Signing a statement calling for action and education were Catholic Bishops Kicanas and Thomas J. Olmsted of the Phoenix Diocese, Methodist Bishop William Dew, Lutheran Bishop Michael Niels, United Church of Christ conference minister Cally Rogers-Witte, Bishop-elect of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona Kirk Smith, and Reform Rabbi Andrew Straus of Temple Emanuel in Tempe."