This summer, the administration promised to address immigration reform after Congress returned from recess. But while health care reform has understandably taken much of the September spotlight, immigration reform has found a true advocate in the nation’s faith community, which has been spearheading a behind-the-scenes push for reform.   

Angry about how immigrants have been blamed for many of our nation’s woes and by how the media and politicians have scared people into blaming immigrants, the faith community reminds us that immigrants are only human and deserve compassion.  The Washington Post’s “On Faith” blog does an excellent job explaining how and why the faith community has taken up the issue: 

"Sam Fulwood, a journalist and CAP Senior Fellow, spent months speaking to faith group after faith group who have just starting caring for immigrants because no one else is doing it. His writing is a collection of stories about what these groups, whether Protestant or Catholic, Jewish or Buddhist or Muslim, are just doing. They are not coordinated or part of one network. They are people who have just become fed up and have reached out to undocumented immigrants because of their faith commitments to caring for the neighbor."

And recently, Archbishop Jose Gomez pleaded for reform in an editorial for Today’s Catholic, urging us all to examine the issue from a moral, human standpoint, and pointing out that “…with courage and creativity, it is possible for our politicians to find a just and honorable solution that creates equal justice for the two great traditions in this country: compassion for the defenseless and respect for the law.”

Other indicators that the faith community has fully embraced the issue:

• America’s Voice recently blogged about how the faith community “flexed it’s muscle” during the month of September to bring about compassionate immigration reform.
• Sojourners, a weekly E-zine dedicated to spirituality, politics, and culture, pointed out, “immigration reform is a moral issue, because welcoming the stranger in our midst is a mandate from God (Matthew 25:35)”. The organization is circulating a petition urging Christians to “help us make the case to Congress that Christians want to see compassionate reform of our immigration laws as soon as possible.”
• Christians for Immigration Reform, which, according to their web site, was recently founded “to provide an opportunity for those millions of Christian Americans whose views on U.S. immigration policy differ sharply from the expansionist policies currently advanced by most church organizations, and particularly by their Washington, D.C. lobbying offices.”
• An immigration bill is in the works, and Congress is planning more meetings on the issue. On the agenda is an upcoming subcommittee hearing to look at the issue from a faith-based perspective

With an immigration bill soon to be made public, the issue will soon return to the national spotlight. When the time comes, we must be ready to support it wholeheartedly. 

Tell us: What do you think is the role of the faith community in comprehensive immigration reform?

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