Evangelicals Urge 119th Congress, Trump Administration to Reflect Biblical Principles in Immigration Policy Agenda
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, several prominent evangelical Christian organizations sent to all congressional offices “An Evangelical Immigration Agenda for the 119th Congress and the New Administration.”
Guided by a series of biblically informed principles first articulated in 2012, the Evangelical Immigration Table’s policy agenda urges the new Congress and the incoming Trump administration to collaborate together to pursue several key policy priorities, including:
- Ensuring secure, orderly national borders by investing in the personnel, infrastructure and technology necessary to halt unlawful entries, intercept drugs and other unlawful substances and manage lawful entries in secure and efficient ways.
- Creating a solution for Dreamers to apply for permanent legal status and citizenship.
- Facilitating orderly, lawful immigration processes, consistent with President-elect Trump’s recent statement that “we want people to come in … but they have to come in with love for the country. They have to come in legally.”
- Sustaining the U.S. refugee resettlement program, which allows the U.S. to offer safety and religious freedom to those persecuted for their faith, as well as to those persecuted for other reasons.
- Prioritizing immigration enforcement efforts on individuals convicted of serious violent offenses or who otherwise pose a credible public safety threat, rather than utilizing limited resources to remove individuals who have resided in the United States for many years without committing any serious criminal offense, many of whom are members of local churches and have U.S. citizen minor children.
- Continuing to respect longstanding guidance that limits immigration enforcement in “sensitive locations” such as church services and ministry sites, out of respect for religious freedom, as the government should not take actions that would have the effect of scaring people from attending church.
- Establishing a restitution-based legalization process for individuals in the country unlawfully, who would pay a fine and meet other qualifications.
The Table plans to send the agenda to the new administration upon inauguration.
The following are quotes from leaders of some of the organizations that released the Evangelical Immigration Agenda:
Raymond Chang, President, Asian American Christian Collaborative:
“A new presidential administration and a new Congress could lead to significant changes to U.S. immigration policy, which in turn could have profound impacts on Asian American Christian communities along with many other Americans. I hope this policy agenda will catalyze bipartisan collaboration to address the challenges and the opportunities of immigration for the United States, guided by biblical principles that prioritize those to whom Jesus extended compassion, care, and priority.”
Myal Greene, President & CEO, World Relief:
“While administrations, congresses and the policies that they set change, our biblically rooted principles stay the same. We appreciate this opportunity to invite bipartisan leaders in Congress and the incoming Trump administration to consider how we believe biblical values can best be applied to the pressing immigration policy concerns facing our country.”
Gabriel Salguero, President, National Latino Evangelical Coalition:
“As a new Congress is sworn in and President-elect Trump returns to the White House, evangelical churches face a great deal of uncertainty about how policies will shift and how those changes will directly impact the people to whom we minister. We’re asking both the Congress and the administration to clarify their plans and to commit themselves to these policies, rooted in biblical principles, that would ensure security while keeping families together and treating all people humanely.”
