Faith
Faith groups across the country have been vocal in their belief that immigration strengthens our communities and adamant in their support for common sense immigration reforms. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Southern Baptist Convention, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and many other religious groups have endorsed comprehensive immigration reform, and surveys consistently show that majorities of Protestants, Evangelicals, Catholics, Jews, Mormons, Muslims, and Buddhists all overwhelmingly support reform. Mormons in particular have endorsed the Utah Compact, a statement of principles endorsing both strong border protections and the recognition that immigrants help fuel economic growth.
Looking for America: El Paso
Media are invited to preview, attend, and cover Looking for America: El Paso, a chapter in a new dialogue and art initiative that is touring six communities across the United States. At a time when Americans are more polarized than ever, especially on the issue of immigration, national and local… Read More
The Los Angeles Daily News Opinion: The continuing cost of the Trump Muslim ban
As a lawyer with the Council on American-Islamic Relations, I see plenty of people trying to navigate our immigration system, some with more success than others. Not long ago, a Syrian-born client named Hasan attended a green-card interview at the United States Embassy in Rome alongside Sarah, his American wife. Read More
Religion News Service Opinion: Four decades after Saigon fell, we still need refugees as much as they need us
The day Saigon fell, on April 30, 1975, my mother and her family knew they could not stay in their native Vietnam. They joined the tens of thousands of South Vietnamese civilians who had evacuated the country to avoid massacre by the communist Viet Cong, who had captured Saigon. As… Read More
The Kansas City Star Commentary: Compassion for immigrants embedded in Jewish history. We should now repay kindnesses
Last summer, I traveled to migrant shelters in Tijuana with T’ruah, a human rights organization of 2,000 rabbis and cantors, and HIAS-the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. I was moved by the mothers I met at the border. These were women who had been deported and separated from their families, but… Read More
Fox News Opinion: Pastor: For me, immigration is biblical — Foreign-born congregants are human beings, not political problems
In May of 2016, I was called to be senior pastor of South Tulsa Baptist Church, a prominent Oklahoma congregation in an area well-known for its luxurious homes and gated communities. Many didn’t realize at the time that immigrant and refugee families also resided within blocks of our… Read More
Los Angeles Daily News Opinion: Two years later, the continuing cost of the Muslim ban
Several years ago, a client of mine at the Council on American-Islamic Relations came to the United States from Yemen to study dentistry. After graduating from one of the nation’s most prominent programs, he was hired on as a professor and is now training the next generation of U.S. dentists. Recently, though,… Read More
Iranian Refugee Seeks Ways to Give Back to Her Adoptive Community
When Islamic revolutionaries overthrew the Shah of Iran in 1979, members of the Baha’i faith once again faced persecution. On a single night in December, 500 Baha’i homes were burned to the ground. One belonged to the family of Parivash Rohani, an 18-year-old girl preparing for college. “My parents were… Read More
Laotian Refugee, Entrepreneur, and PhD Candidate Calls Boise Home
When Palina Louangketh was three years old, her mother walked her and her brother into a field after a family dinner and kept going. They were escaping Laos, and would walk for two and a half weeks, always at night to evade communist patrols. During the day they hid or… Read More
DRC Immigrant Finds His Faith and a Path to Helping Other Immigrants
César M’nyampara was a mining-industry lawyer in the Democratic Republic of Congo, but when his father, a political activist, was murdered in 2003, he decided to find a safer place for his family. In 2011, M’nyampara, his pregnant wife, and their four children came to Illinois on diversity visas. There,… Read More
Welcoming Immigrants to Georgia Affirms Basic Values, Reverend Says
To the Reverend James T. Said, rector of Saint Augustine of Canterbury Episcopal Church in Augusta, Georgia, and a member of the local Progressive Religious Coalition (PRC), advocating for immigration reform is deeply tied to his religion. “The Progressive Religious Coalition believes we should affirm the values of love, justice,… Read More
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