Evangelical Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform

The Evangelical Immigration Table is a broad coalition of Evangelical organizations and leaders advocating for immigration reform consistent with biblical values. They call for legislation that “respects the God-given dignity of every person, protects the unity of the immediate family, respects the rule of law, guarantees secure national borders, ensures fairness to taxpayers, and establishes a path toward legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent residents.”

 “Our national immigration laws have created a moral, economic and political crisis in America. Initiatives to remedy this crisis have led to polarization and name calling in which opponents have misrepresented each other’s positions as open borders and amnesty versus deportations of millions. This false choice has led to an unacceptable political stalemate at the federal level at a tragic human cost. We urge our nation’s leaders to work together with the American people to pass immigration reform that embodies these key principles and that will make our nation proud,” says the Christian group that emphasizes the authority of the Bible.

They are correct in calling the current broken immigration system a moral, economic and political crisis. The failure by Congress to pass immigration reform that secures our borders and properly identifies and taxes the undocumented who are here has allowed some dangerous people and things to enter the US and created a shadow economy that disadvantages many hardworking people and ethical businesses of this great nation.

Democrats failed to pass a solution by themselves in 2012-2013 when they controlled the presidency and a majority in both branches of Congress, and even with the support of President Donald Trump, Republicans failed this year. As hardliners on both sides of the aisle continue to sink their heels into the ground for political clout, they have failed to make any significant improvements on immigration in over 30 years, and we still have an unsecured border and millions of undocumented immigrants living in the US today.

The solution to our immigration problems is quite clear: secure the border, provide a way for the undocumented who can pass background checks to earn their legal status so they can be identified and taxed properly, focus ICE resources on prosecuting and deporting violent criminal aliens looking to do us harm, and create adequate legal pathways of immigration and an efficient worker visa program to meet the dynamic workforce needs of our growing economy so people have an effective way to come here legally, work, and go home. The status quo is no longer acceptable, and it is not going to get better unless we make all of these changes.

Our lawmakers should pass immigration reform like this not only because it makes too much sense, but yes, as Christians, because the Bible says so.