On Monday, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) issued a letter in support of the recently released “Evangelical Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform.” The ELCA applauded the principles stating that they mirror many of the ELCA’s own ideals for immigration reform:
The ELCA has a long-standing commitment to comprehensive immigration reform that respects the God-given dignity of every person, protects workers, upholds family unity, and establishes a pathway to legal status and citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
The letter was signed by Rev. Mark S. Hanson, Presiding Bishop; Rev. Jessica R. Crist, chair of the Conference of Bishops and Rev. H. Julian Gordy, Bishop of the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA and chair of the ELCA Conference of Bishop’s immigration task force. The authors praised the principles and stated their support: “we welcome your witness to the moral dimensions of the United States’ broken immigration system.”
The evangelical statement adds another important voice to the growing coalition of faith communities jointly calling on Congress to pass fair and humane immigration reform. This support from the ELCA is an example of a widespread and continuously growing agreement for reforms to our broken immigration system that spans across faith communities. As more religious leaders come out with similar statements, it is becoming clear that the current state of the immigration system is inciting reaction from people of all faiths adding to a resounding message from the religious community. As the Evangelical Principles state, “Our national immigration laws have created a moral, economic and political crisis in America.” This crisis situation is uniting religious leaders across faith backgrounds to push for humane reform that respects the dignity of all individuals regardless of nationality.
LIRS applauds the ELCA for adding their support for the bold action by our evangelical brothers and sisters. LIRS President and CEO Linda Hartke shared her thanks in a statement:
LIRS is grateful for the continued support of the ELCA on the issue of immigration reform. The partnership with ELCA leadership has been invaluable and we appreciate their newest statement of support for these principles.