We are seeing many powerful op-eds on immigration reform, and today I’d like to lift up one published yesterday in the Houston Chronicle. The author is Rev. Mark Junkans, the founding Executive Director of LINC Houston.
In his op-ed, “Reforming Immigration Would be Step Toward Stability,” he writes:
As our senators are debating immigration reform in Washington, thousands of families in our community are living in a perpetual state of uncertainty. True and fair immigration reform would mean that these Houston-area families and their children could come out of the shadows, truly becoming contributors to our community and our local economy.
As someone whose day-to-day work for the last 19 years has focused on providing those services in Texas, I can testify that the improvements brought by reform would be no small thing. Based on my experiences heading LINC Houston, and as a pastor in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, I support immigration reform in a way that truly fixes the problems we face. These problems aren’t going away, and I encourage our lawmakers to finally do something about them.
This country is only at the starting line of the marathon to reach fair, effective and compassionate immigration reform. Republicans and Democrats must come together to preserve S.744 from weakening changes proposed by more extreme voices. Moreover, bipartisan leadership is needed to set forth a similar bill in the House of Representatives.
You can read the entire op-ed by clicking the link above. Please show your support by leaving a comment, promoting the piece through Facebook and other social media, and sending the link to your friends, colleagues, and family.
Today may be the day the Senate votes on S.744, so this is a crucial moment for op-eds like this to run. We’re grateful to Rev. Junkans for writing this piece, and to the Houston Chronicle for helping him to reach so many Texans with this eloquent message about the importance of immigration reform. Please add your voice to his by speaking up now through the LIRS Action Center!