MAHONY WRITES TO BUSH, CONGRESS CARDINAL PLEADS FOR PASSAGE OF IMMIGRATION LAW.

Byline: RACHEL URANGA Staff Writer

Comparing the immigration crisis to some of the nation's most wrought historical periods, Cardinal Roger Mahony forcefully urged Congress on Monday to pass immigration reform before the November elections.

With a deadlocked Congress under increasing pressure from supporters and detractors of illegal immigration to pass reform this year, the chances of its approving legislation is slim.

Still, Mahony -- head of the country's largest Catholic archdiocese -- told 3,500 people at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles that it is ``a moral imperative'' and that the next weeks are crucial.

``Our Congress has exactly four weeks to deal with one of the most pressing moral issues this country has faced in decades,'' he said during his annual Labor Day Mass, where he compared the immigration crisis to the difficulties the country faced after the Great Depression and World War II. ``They do not have the luxury of turning this into a political game.''

Mahony announced to the cathedral filled with top labor leaders and a handful of local politicians that he had sent letters to President George W. Bush and top house and Senate leaders, calling on them to put aside partisan politics and pass a comprehensive immigration law.

A just law would include a movement toward citizenship for the 11 million illegal immigrants living in the United States, he said.

But leaders of the House, who went on the road this summer to promote their immigration legislation, have backed a security-heavy bill with no temporary worker program, as the Senate bill seeks.

Immigrant rights groups have generally backed the Senate bill.

``We would like to see something done this year, but no bill would be better than the Senate bill,'' said Ira Mehlman, a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which seeks tougher border security. ``But I am certainly frustrated by the failure of the Senate and Bush administration to come through on their process. They are asking the American public to take another set of empty promises when they never have made good on enforcement before.''

In cities across the country, immigrant rights groups used the weekend to rally support, with union groups leading the way. But the outpouring seen a few months ago -- including a rally in L.A. that attracted 500,000 -- has slowed.

But an Associated Press report released today shows that while organizers used the slogan ``today we march, tomorrow we vote,'' efforts to increase immigrant voter rolls have had little impact here. In other cities, the rolls have remained stagnant.

``The level of momentum and combination of activities that we had three months ago, we don't have today, that is for sure,'' said Octavio Pescador, a visiting professor at UCLA who has been working with the We Are America Coalition. ``But once deliberations in Congress begin, things will pick up.''

Made up of pro-immigrant-rights groups, the coalition has been at the forefront of the Democracy Summer voter registration drives and march organizing.

But Pescador noted that the movement in L.A. has suffered slightly because of internal splinters. On Saturday, a rally that organizers -- the March 25th Coalition -- hoped would be a show of force only turned out 1,000, police said, though organizers estimated at least 5,000 showed up.

The group did not have the backing of big labor, Pescador pointed out. Even some immigrants themselves said they were reluctant to participate. On the city's most popular morning radio show -- Piolin por la Manana -- a caller told March 25th organizers that the protests only sparked racism.

But at the cathedral, where Mahony called for parishioners to ``hold their elected officials accountable,'' the focus on immigration reform was welcomed.

``He gives us hope. He is struggling for us because so many of us are treated so bad,'' said Elena Elias, a Salvadoran immigrant who became a citizen 12 years ago. ``I hope that the Congress is listening.''

In letters sent to Bush and top leaders of the House and Senate on Monday, Mahony asked them to use their leadership position to ``help all members of Congress to understand their moral responsibility and duty to be fully engaged in this important task.''

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com

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