|
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Lauds President Bush's Efforts on Immigration and Urges Protection for Iraqi Refugees
BALTIMORE, January 26, 2007 — In his 2007 State of the Union address, President George W. Bush challenged Congress to work with him to create “an immigration system worthy of America—with laws that are fair and borders that are secure.” He urged Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.
President Bush called for a comprehensive approach that fixes the broken system not only by increasing border patrol staff and technology to manage immigration at the border and by increasing technology for employers to verify that workers are authorized, but also by taking “pressure off the border” through a temporary worker program that creates “a legal and orderly path for foreign workers to enter our country on a temporary basis.” He urged a path of treating undocumented people without animosity while not providing amnesty.
“LIRS commends President Bush for putting comprehensive immigration reform front and center as a bipartisan priority for Congress and the White House,” said Ralston H. Deffenbaugh Jr., president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. “We agree that it is the sovereign duty of each nation to regulate its borders and to assure a fair and orderly immigration system that serves the common good and is consistent with our values as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants.
“LIRS calls on the president and Congress to pass comprehensive reform that upholds our nation’s great tradition of welcome and that meets four principles of reuniting families, protecting human rights and worker rights, bringing marginalized people out of the shadows, and providing a path to permanence through an earned legalization program.”
Responding to the president’s comments on the continuing Iraq crisis, Deffenbaugh urged the White House and Congress “to take special note of the refugee and humanitarian needs created by this conflict. As our leaders deliberate on future military actions in the region, they must also include a plan to assure sustained humanitarian aid and protection for Iraqis who have fled the region.
“President Bush offered that our nation ‘is at a defining hour—when decisions are hard and courage is needed.’ We pray that our leaders have the courage to ensure that America’s doors remain open to newcomers and that they seek protection for the refugee victims fleeing war-torn Iraq,” Deffenbaugh concluded.
Since 1939 LIRS has worked through a national network of service and advocacy partners to resettle refugees, protect immigrant children, advocate for fair treatment of asylum seekers, pursue alternatives for those in immigration detention, and promote welcoming communities throughout the country.
LIRS is a cooperative agency of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. With bold initiative and careful stewardship, LIRS seeks creative solutions for uprooted people regardless of race, ethnicity or religious beliefs.
# # #
Archived News Releases
|
