Evangelical groups voice support for immigration reform

Posted: 4/13/06

Evangelical groups voice
support for immigration reform

By John Hall

Texas Baptist Communications

WASHINGTON—More than 50 evangelical leaders and a dozen organizations—including the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission—wrote President Bush and members of Congress in favor of an immigration bill that supports guest worker programs and citizenship for undocumented aliens already in the United States.

Albert Reyes, president of Baptist University of the Americas and past president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, signed a letter urging President Bush and lawmakers to develop an immigration policy that reunites separated families faster, creates more responsive legal avenues for workers and their families who wish to immigrate to the United States legally and enables undocumented workers to become citizens.

The letter also calls for “border protection policies that are consistent with humanitarian values and with the need to treat all individuals with respect, while allowing the authorities to carry out the critical task of enforcing our laws.”

Groups that signed the letter include the World Evangelical Alliance, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Christian Reformed Church in North America, Jubilee Campaign USA, Sojourners and Latino Leadership Foundation.

The CLC-endorsed letter cites several biblical passages, including Deuteronomy 10:18-19 and Leviticus 19:33-34, which teach Christians to be compassionate toward “aliens.” The second passage reminds the Israelites they once were aliens in Egypt.

“We support comprehensive immigration reform, based on biblical mandates, our Christian faith and values, and our commitment to civil and human rights,” the letter reads. “We value immigrants as human beings, made in the image of God. We are aware of the obstacles that immigrants face, especially undocumented individuals, because they are vital members of our churches, our communities and our nation.”

Immigration issues have brought evangelicals together in unprecedented ways, Reyes said.

“In this one issue—perhaps the civil rights issue of the 21st century—we’re finding unity across cultural, denominational and ethnic lines,” he said.

Lawmakers have debated an immigration reform bill that addresses the presence of more than 11 million illegal immigrants in the United States. Bills have ranged from emphasizing border enforcement to stressing methods of allowing undocumented residents to become citizens.

The debate spurred a series of protests across the nation, with thousands of students walking out of high schools and hundreds of thousands filling downtown city streets.

The immigration issue especially is important in Texas, where more than 1 million undocumented people live, Reyes stressed.

Illegal immigrants live in Texas communities, attend Texas schools and minister in Texas Baptist churches, Reyes said. They are accepting the gospel and becoming Christians, sharing their faith and impacting lives in the name of Christ, he said.

The flood of immigrants into Texas is creating a large mission field for Texas Baptists to serve, he added. In 2003, the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and Baptist General Convention of Texas each passed resolutions encouraging ministry to illegal immigrants.

“We are in the middle of the most dramatic era of global migration in the world’s history,” he said. “What does it mean for God to allow 12 million undocumented workers from our southern borders to come into our communities, churches and schools?”