I wanted to share with you a courageous op-ed by Rev. Sandy Jones, a participant in the Lutheran Immigration Leadership Summit that LIRS put together this summer.
“SC Decision Underlines Need for Immigration Reform” was published today in The State, the newspaper of record of South Carolina.
Rev. Jones, the pastor and mission developer of the Iglesia Luterana Manantial de Vida in Columbia, analyzes a recent pivotal court decision on extreme anti-immigrant legislation, S.20, putting it in the context of comprehensive immigration reform. Her piece begins:
The U.S. District Court’s order blocking key provisions of South Carolina’s extreme anti-immigrant law is a step toward what the election confirmed is America’s real aspiration and need: comprehensive federal immigration reform.
As a plaintiff in the case challenging S.20 of 2011, I’m proud that we’re turning back a law that’s doing our state moral, social and economic harm. The decision reaffirms a 2011 ruling that blocked provisions aimed at turning unlawful presence into a state crime and at criminalizing everyday activities such as renting an apartment to an undocumented immigrant. We’ve already seen how similar laws in Alabama and Arizona left crops rotting in fields, church pews empty and whole families in flight. So we can celebrate this decision, which moves us away from that destructive path.
Please take a moment to read the piece, and if you feel so moved, show solidarity with her by leaving a positive comment or Liking on Facebook.
Thank you, and many thanks to Rev. Jones!