"We are at a pivotal moment in the history of migration in this hemisphere," said the statement, dated June 4, which was released at the conclusion of a meeting of 10 bishops from the region and two Vatican representatives. "There is no time to waste," it said.

The conference, one of a series of regular meetings for the region's bishops on migration issues, was held at a migrants' center in western Guatemala, near the Mexican border.

The bishops' statement described the combination of political opportunities created by the change in the White House and urgency fed by the global economic crisis and the increased role of organized crime in human trafficking.

"The global economic crisis has impacted all nations and must be considered in seeking solutions to problems of illegal immigration," the bishops wrote. "An examination of global economic agreements and their impact on migration flows also must be included."

It referred to the dangers faced by migrants who "suffer at the hands of smugglers, human traffickers and drug cartels" who "continue to suffer abuse and even death as they seek to find work to support their families."

The organized crime syndicates that operate along borders and within the various countries "not only threaten migrants, their violence has inhabited towns and communities. Human trafficking networks prey upon vulnerable women, men and children; and is a horrific crime that must be abolished."

The bishops also decried increased violations of human rights of migrants, which are especially concentrated in areas where the civil authorities don't intervene.

And they also lamented "the impact of migration on the family unit -- too often families are separated in our hemisphere. Children all too often bear the brunt of this family separation by being left alone or by being forced to work to support a family who has lost a father or mother. We have verified the vulnerability of many unaccompanied children."

They noted that within their own countries public awareness is lacking about migration, especially "the evil of human trafficking," and said migrants are sometimes considered to be the cause "of all kinds of social ills."

"We are saddened when in our own communities migrants are not welcomed as brothers and sisters in our own faith as members of our Catholic family," they wrote. "We must insist that in the church, 'no one is a stranger.'"

"The church recognizes that all the goods of the earth belong to all people, they said.

People who cannot find jobs in their own countries sufficient to support themselves and their families "have a right to find work elsewhere in order to survive."

"While sovereign governments have the right to enforce borders," they continued, "we are a church without borders rooted in Jesus Christ with a universal good that implies a responsibility to advocate in our countries for the basic protection of human rights and dignity of migrants and the creation of humane policies based on moral and ethical principles."

Besides calling for a regional summit on migration, the signers urged other church leaders "to receive with respect and acceptance our brother and sister migrants. ... It is of utmost importance they feel welcome in their communities of origin as well as their receiving communities and to have pastoral accompaniment along their journey."

They also called for "a re-examination of refugee and asylum protection policies within our hemisphere. Women, children, and families at times flee political or other forms of persecution, but are not given adequate protection in other countries."

Meeting participants who signed the statement were Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, head of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Travelers, Mexican Archbishop Rafael Romo Munoz of Tijuana; U.S. Bishop John C. Wester of Salt Lake City; Bishop Francois Lapierre of Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec; Bishop Angel San Casimiro Fernandez of Alajuela, Costa Rica; Bishop Pedro Joaquin Hernandez Cantarero, apostolic vicar of Darien, Panama; Bishop Bernardo Hombach of Granada, Nicaragua; and the meeting's host, Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini Imeri of San Marcos, Guatemala. All the bishops head their respective migration committees or human mobility commissions.

Also attending the meeting were: Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, apostolic nuncio to Guatemala; Mexican Bishops Leon Renato Ascensio of Ciudad Juarez and Leopoldo Gonzalez of Tapachula; and U.S. Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, Calif., board chairman of the Catholic Legal Immigration Network.