On January 21, 2012, Catholic, Episcopal, and United Methodist Bishops of Mississippi challenged the Governor Phil Bryant and Mississippi legislators not to follow the anti-immigrant lead of Arizona, Alabama, and other states in the upcoming legislative session. The bishops expressed deep concern about the growing anti-immigrant climate in local communities, and they cited Mississippi’s history in their plea for human dignity and rights:

Given our history, a troublesome past, with biases and discrimination between cultural and ethnic groups, we will suffer a major setback to the great progress that has been made. While we still have a long way to go in the development of better human relations, anti-immigrant legislation can only deter our progress on this journey.

The letter was signed by Bishops Joseph N. Latino and Roger P. Morin of the Catholic Dioceses of Jackson and Biloxi, Bishop Duncan M. Gray, III, of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, and Bishop Hope Morgan Ward of the Mississippi territory of the United Methodist Church. The full text is found here.