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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Leaders from across the evangelical community came together today to release open letters to President Obama and to the House and Senate leadership, seeking action on immigration policy. On a press call this morning, leaders discussed the implications of the 2012 election and their plans for harnessing the growing consensus in the evangelical community around reform.
The letters highlight why evangelical leaders are concerned about the current immigration system, lay out moral principles for reform and explain why leaders have called for reform in the first 92 days of President Obama’s second term. The letters state:
"We are driven by a moral obligation rooted deeply in our faith to address the needs of immigrants in our country. Compassionate and just treatment of immigrants is a frequent topic in scripture. The Hebrew word for immigrant, “ger,” occurs 92 times throughout the Bible."
The letters also call for balanced immigration reform that respects the God-given dignity of every person, guarantees secure national borders, protects the unity of the immediate family, ensures fairness to taxpayers and respects the rule of law, but also establishes a path toward legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent residents.
The Evangelical Immigration Table, which launched in June 2012, represents diverse evangelical leaders from across the political spectrum, including The National Association of Evangelicals, Sojourners, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention and the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. A full list of partner organizations is available at www.evangelicalimmigrationtable.com, along with a list of more than 150 prominent evangelical leaders who have endorsed the Table’s principles for reform.