Members of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, which FCNL co-chairs, sent this letter to the House urging them to reject both immigration bills being considered this week.
The IIC is made up of over 50 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
You can see a PDF of this letter here.
Dear Members of Congress,
The House will vote on two immigration bills this week that have been touted as solutions to challenges within the U.S. immigration system. Yet both bills fail to meet the Interfaith Immigration Coalition’s shared faithful objective to protect immigrant youth while honoring the core tenets of human dignity and family unity. In fact, these bills would harm immigrant families and endanger children.
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition urges Members of Congress to reject H.R. 4760, The Securing America’s Future Act, and Speaker Ryan’s Border Security and Immigration Reform Act. Both proposals fail to meet the IIC’s principles for immigration and border reform. They undermine family unity and family-based immigration, protections for unaccompanied children, and access to due process and justice.
Some have claimed these proposals will end family separation; they will not. So long as the administration chooses to criminally prosecute 100% of parents, their children will still be taken away or harmfully detained. This practice is traumatizing and has been renounced by our faith traditions, leaders, and communities. We urge members of Congress to pressure the administration to end its policy of separating families immediately as well as stop criminally prosecuting and detaining parents and asylum seekers.
Our shared platform is rooted in interfaith principles, which call us to ensure that our laws promote and protect the dignity of each individual. We look for policies that:
Prioritize family unity,
Create a process that leads to legal status and citizenship,
Improve access to the legal immigration system,
Protect all workers and reduce exploitation,
Emphasize community safety,
Protect human rights in enforcement practices and border policies,
Ensure prosecutorial discretion,
Reform detention policies,
Protect vulnerable populations in the U.S. and abroad, and
Facilitate immigrant and refugee integration.
Strong, faithful communities rely on our ability to welcome the stranger and recognize the human dignity of each person. Compassionate immigration reforms would help heal our communities and our nation. Congress should invest in long-term solutions rather than endless enforcement. Any immigration proposal meant to be a solution for Dreamers must meet these criteria of a compassionate solution.
We urge members of Congress to work with each other in a truly bipartisan manner and to work with immigrant and border communities to find the best, permanent solution for undocumented youth. As we work toward these real solutions, let us together build a future that values the unity of all families, protects the safety of all communities, and brings people together rather than tearing them apart.
Sincerely,
Members of the Interfaith Immigration Coalition
African American Ministers in Action
American Baptist Home Mission Societies of the American Baptist Churches, USA
American Friends Service Committee
American Jewish Committee
Bend the Arc Jewish Action
Bethany Christian Services
Bread for the World
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Christian Community Development Association
Christian Reformed Church
Church of the Brethren
Church World Service
CLINIC | Catholic Legal Immigration Network, inc.
Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach
Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM)
Daughters of Charity
The Episcopal Church
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)
Faith in Public Life
Franciscan Action Network
Friends Committee on National Legislation
HIAS
Ignatian Solidarity Network
Interfaith Worker Justice
Irish Apostolate USA
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
Mennonite Central Committee U.S.
Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC)
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Council of Churches
National Council of Jewish Women
National Justice for Our Neighbors
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
Pax Christi USA
PICO National Network
Presbyterian Church USA Office of Immigration Issues
Scalabrinian International Migration Network (SIMN) /Center for Migration Studies (CMS)
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Sojourners
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
Union for Reform Judaism
Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations (UUA)
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries
United Methodist Church, General Board of Church & Society
UNITED SIKHS
U.S. Jesuit Conference
World Relief
