I’m thrilled to see that Lutheran leaders’ visits to Capitol Hill are being reported in newspapers across the country. Long Island newspaper, Half Hollow Hills Patch, recently featured Bishop Robert Rimbo’s advocacy as part of LIRS’s Lutheran Immigration Leadership Summit.
Reporter Julia Tomkins writes how Bishop Rimbo, of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, met with Congressman Steve Israel to advocate for immigration reform.
Tomkins quotes the bishop, who said:
Our immigration system is deeply broken; it is a serious moral issue that impacts millions of people. Our elected officials can no longer stand by as immigrant communities and families are being ripped apart.
Congressman Israel agreed with Bishop Rimbo’s stance, but called out Speaker John Boehner for preventing meaningful action on the issue. Congressman Israel told Tomkins:
Comprehensive immigration reform is the right thing to do to help our economy and American families. The votes are there to pass the bill, but Speaker Boehner must allow us to vote on it. I thank Bishop Rimbo for discussing this critical issue with me today, and I will continue to fight to bring comprehensive immigration reform to a vote.
As Congressman Israel states, the votes are there to pass the bill. The majority of the House of Representatives understands that immigration reform is a necessity that will move our country forward. As people of faith, we must continue to put pressure on House leadership to take action on this issue.
We appreciate the Half Hollow Hills Patch and Julia Tomkins for bringing this issue to the forefront.
Engaging in direct conversation with your representatives, as Bishop Rimbo did last week, is an excellent way to advocate for immigration reform, but it is not the only, nor necessarily most effective, way. Visit our Action Center or call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to urge your elected officials to enact immigration reform.