A group of Christian leaders from across the country met at the Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. today and called for a more civil and humane debate on comprehensive immigration reform.
The clergy members said that the way illegal immigrants are treated is inhumane and at clear odds with Christian values.
The coalition, Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, represents a number of religions ranging from Catholicism to Evangelism. CCIR released a paper, called “A House Divided: Why Americans of Faith Are Concerned About Undocumented Immigrants”, which focuses on three points and relates them to Bible verses.
Click here to read it.
-Vanja Petrovic
“This immigration issue for us is a “welcoming the stranger issue’,” said Rev. Jim Wallis, Founder and CEO of Sojourners, a religious advocacy magazine.
The paper compares anti-immigrant rhetoric to Leviticus 19:18, a Biblical verse that calls Christians to love their neighbors. The report says that the dehumanization of immigrants and hateful language is at odds with this.
Secondly, the paper argues that this language is playing out on all levels of government down to the local level.
Thirdly, the coalition states in the paper that the recent rise in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on work sites and homes of undocumented immigrants is un-Christian because it causes the fragmentation of families.
-Vanja Petrovic
Only good citizen has concerned for the safety of his or her community. After 911, a good citizen has the right to report any suspect/illegal immigrant to the law enforcement and the law enforcement should execute its right to deport any suspect/illegal immigrant in order to keep the community safer as well as to enforce the laws. Employer who hired illegal immigrant should be prosecuted in the court of laws. America is a county of laws. Keep the job for the American, not for the illegal immigrant. Illegal is Illegal. This is English. Do the lawmakers know English. Vote them out if whoever support illegal immigrant and disregard the safety of the community.
Smart voter
These “Christian leaders” are hypocrites and it is THEY WHO ARE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF ILLEGALS. Everyone knows that churches are dependent on donations of its people; that’s basic knowledge. Because ICE is doing such a great job now, these clergy have seen a SIGNIFICANT DROP in their donations. They are literally FREAKING OUT. So they are hiding behind this “compassionate charade” to mask their REAL INTENTIONS: MONEY.
Give me a break, clergy. We’re not stupid.
Better yet, go preach in Mexico, because I hear that there, THEY REALLY DON’T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT THEIR OWN PEOPLE.
I feel very much for he disadvantaged, but the there are far more worthy of assistance then the Illegal Immigrants in America.
We spend over $10K per year educating Illegal Immigrant children. Imagine how many children in poor countries could be educated for the same amount.
If you truly care about people, then we need to faciliate change in the corrupt third world countries (I include Mexico even though it’s a wealthy country).
Encouraging them all to come here will only help the corrupt countries and destroy America.
Clergy Speaks Out on Illegal Immigration
For a bunch who touts their piousness at the drop of a boom mike, the religious right has been remarkable quiet on the Christ-like issues of compassion and charity when discussing immigration. Would Jesus have started laying down electrified fence?
Unfortunately the comments here miss the point of the news article, and reiterate the knee-jerk nastiness that permeates this immigration debate. “Facilitate change in third world countries…” hmm, now we’re talking. But “Encouraging them all to come here”? Who is encouraging anyone to come? What this article says, and what the clergy is simply pointing out, is that the debate can be had with compassion and understanding that who we are talking about are people with dreams and aspirations, not fruit-picking caricatures just waiting to rob your house when you go on vacation. A little more compassion, please, and we can move mountains.