Religious Leaders Call for Immigration Reform as Senate Begins Battle
Religious leaders representing Catholic, Evangelical, Protestant and Jewish communities challenged current U.S. policies on immigration on Thursday during a rally at the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill.
WASHINGTON – Religious leaders representing Catholic, Evangelical, Protestant and Jewish communities challenged current U.S. policies on immigration Thursday during a rally at the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill, and encouraged Congress to reject pending legislation that they say would “bring undue harm to legal immigrants, asylum-seekers, and refugees in this country.”
“As Christians we believe that we are called to advocate for policies and mindsets that do not foster hate and perpetuate fear and discrimination,” said the Rev. Robert Edgar, General Secretary of the National Council of Churches. “That is why we strongly urge Congress and the President to pass comprehensive immigration reform that upholds the dignity of all people and reflects the principles for which our nation was founded.”
The interfaith rally came as the U.S. Senate began battling over immigration reform Thursday morning, with lawmakers divided over whether to focus solely on border control or to take up a broader bill that includes guest worker programs to help the 11 million illegal aliens living in the country.
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Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) said it would be a “gigantic task” to win agreement on an immigration reform bill that the committee and the Senate will pass.
"I have seen virtually no agreement on anything when it comes to this immigration bill," he said, according to the Associated Press.
Viewpoints on immigration also vary among Christians, with some calling for tighter border controls and others seeking the full integration of illegal aliens into society.
Participants at Thursday’s rally all agreed that current policies pose “unacceptable dangers” to “would-be immigrants,” but they did not present any one solution to the problem. Instead, the religious leaders called on lawmakers to “work toward a solution that is workable and permanent.”
We must seek “a solution that maintains the security of both borders; that improves economic and labor conditions in Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America so that people are no longer driven to risk their lives in order to provide safety and sustenance for their families,” said Edgar.
At that light, religious leaders urged lawmakers to base the debate on immigration reform “on a concern for our neighbors as well as for ourselves.”
“If we want permanent security, it must be based on solutions that provide justice for all, or injustice will fester and threaten us all into future generations,” said Edgar.
Other high-profile participants included: Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, the Archbishop of Washington, the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, and Rabbi Scott Sperling, Director of the Union for Reform Judaism's Mid-Atlantic Council.
