News 1

St. Paul calls us to "Welcome one
another, just as Christ has welcomed
you, to the glory of God" (Romans
15:7). Our Lutheran tradition calls on
us to uphold the Biblical mandate to
welcome the stranger. The Bible
teaches us "When an alien resides with
you in your land, you shall not oppress
the alien. The alien who resides with
you shall be to you as the citizen
among you; you shall love the alien as
yourself, for you were aliens in the
land of Egypt (Leviticus 19: 33-34)." In
Matthew 25, Jesus himself identifies
with aliens: "I was a stranger and you
welcomed me."

In difficult and threatening times,
churches and all Christians have an
obligation to stand with the word of
God against those who use fear to
deny fundamental human rights and
dignity to the stranger in our midst.
We, the presiding bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA), and the president of
the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee
Service (LIRS), call on all people of
faith to oppose attempts at immigration
reform as currently proposed.

There are those who may wish to
characterize this position as weakening
our national vigilance against
terrorism; it does not, and it would be
wrong to so imply. The ELCA has a
very strong statement regarding the
threat of terrorism and so advocates,
but we believe the current immigration
reform effort does not protect this
country. Rather, it denies fundamental
human rights and limits the ministry of
the church to those residing in our
land.

We reject "enforcement only" legislation
that separates families; that criminalizes
undocumented men, women and children;
that criminalizes churches, their pastors
and lay people who minister to the alien in
their communities; that denies a legal path
to permanent residence for millions
already in the United States working for
our companies and businesses; and denies
fair treatment for farm workers who
provide our daily bread.

We therefore request the following specific
changes in legislation presently under
consideration:
Oppose the criminalization of the church,
its ministers and its members, who provide
humanitarian aid to undocumented
immigrants. The current criminalization
provision provides for seizure of assets
used to further these humanitarian acts.
Oppose provisions which criminalize
undocumented presence. Such provisions
raise punishment of immigration violations
out of proportion to the nature of the
offense, punishing immigrants who seek
only to work or remain with their families
with sentences of up to two years.
Provisions relating to criminal gangs
should be amended to exclude children
whose participation is involuntary, or who
are fleeing the gangs. Each case must be
considered on its own merits.
Provide a path to permanence for
individuals currently residing and working
in the United States as well as their
families. A fair program to bring these
individuals out of the shadows and in line
to obtain legal status must be a part of any
lasting solution as the failure to do so can
only result in the creation of a vulnerable
permanent underclass, unable to fully
participate in society. Essential to such a
solution is a worker visa program which
unites families and provides an opportunity
for workers to earn a permanent place in
American society.
Ensure basic constitutional due process
rights in the enforcement of our laws. We
recognize the need to increase the security
of our borders, but we cannot accept the
curtailment of fundamental due process
rights. Language in the bill would wall off
access to the courts in many situations
where it is now possible, eliminating
checks and balances which form the basis
of America's democracy. Recent decisions
by Federal Appeals Courts have shown
that judicial review is necessary to ensure
the process is functioning properly. Other
sections of the bill allow officials to deny
benefits or even citizenship based on
broad, poorly defined criteria, without
recourse to appeal.

Detention could be extended
almost indefinitely, with little or no
opportunity for appeal.
Transparency and accountability in
decision making has been a
touchstone of American
government since its founding, and
should not be abandoned now.
Include in the legislation the
bipartisan "Agricultural Job
Opportunities Act" for farm
workers, a measure negotiated by
growers, agricultural employers
and farm workers to create an
"earned adjustment" program
enabling some undocumented farm
workers and H-2A guest workers to
obtain temporary immigration
status with the possibility of
permanence and that revises the
existing H-2A worker program.

Finally, we oppose the
rush-to-judgment atmosphere that
is currently surrounding this issue.
Complex language that would affect
the lives of millions of people is
being discussed in back rooms of
Senate chambers, with insufficient
time for understanding, public
discussion, and
reasoned consideration of the
consequences.

As members of a church with
immigrants, and with roots in
immigrant churches in a nation of
immigrants, we urge the Congress
to make these corrections to the
bill, or to reject it.