Excerpt from an article by Bill Tammeus, The Kansas City Star

In the last few months, as the national debate on immigration reform has moved from legislative chambers to the streets, religion has played an important role.

Encouraged by such leaders as Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles, some protesters have relied on religious motives for wanting a kinder and gentler immigration system. They have spoken of justice, of hospitality, of meeting the needs of people in trouble.

All of these are worthy motives rooted in religious values common to many faiths.
But there’s a deeper lesson religion should be teaching in the immigration issue. It should do that by raising these more fundamental questions: What does it mean to be human? Are we not human first and American or Mexican or Honduran second (or third or sixth)?

...

As long as nation-states are a reality of life (and they will be for a long time, even though in some ways they already are breaking down), it will be necessary for each one to defend its borders and create rational ways for people to move across those borders, whether temporarily or permanently. To make sure those rules are fair and just, people of faith should continue to offer their views.

But as that happens, religion should not lose sight of its broader vision of humanity, one that transcends artificial lines drawn on maps.

After reading this article I came to understand why president Bush's popularity has suffered on this issue. He continues to advocate vague positions and make statement s that offer none of the "broader vision of humanity" you'd expect from a self-proclaimed Christian.