Congress may soon be tackling immigration reform in earnest, so I’m glad that faith leaders are continuing to raise their voices for fair and compassionate solutions. Today, I’m proud to share an op-ed by Bishop H. Julian Gordy that appeared in The Columbia Daily Herald.
Rev. Gordy is bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)’s Southeastern Synod and chair of the Immigration Ready Bench of the ELCA Conference of Bishops.In his August 31 piece, “Immigration Reform Would Benefit State,” he writes:
The Senate’s vote this spring to pass immigration reform legislation took America by surprise.
We’d almost forgotten what it’s like to have our political leaders work together to make tough decisions. In a word, to lead. It was gratifying to read that Tennessee Senators Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander were among the supporters of the Senate bill.
Now we need the House to show similar leadership, and here’s why: It will be good for Tennessee and good for the nation.
By passing this bill, S.744, the senators courageously tackled the problem of our long-broken immigration system. That broken system has been costing all of us.
He concludes the piece with this call to action:
This is the moment for House leaders, both Democrats and Republicans, to put aside partisan squabbling and cheap political maneuvering for the good of the nation.
Tennesseans of all faiths stand behind fair, commonsense immigration reform.
Let’s get this done and move on to the next challenge.
You can read the entire piece by clicking the link in the headline above. Please show your support by Liking and Sharing this piece via Facebook and other social media, and by sending the link to your friends, colleagues, and family members. It’s critical that we share op-eds of this type, and these are some of the most effective ways.
Elected officials and their staff pay close attention to op-eds, so I am very grateful to Bishop Gordy for leading on immigration and refugee issues in this way. I’m also thankful to The Columbia Daily Herald for publishing his op-ed.
After reading Bishop Gordy’s words, if you feel inspired, now is the time to raise your own voice for fair and compassionate immigration reform via the LIRS Action Center. Also, please don’t forget to sign up to receive alerts from this blog, and check out our new Immigration Reform Mythbuster.
Once again, thank you for all that you do to Stand for Welcome!