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.
Conservative Pastor and Ex-Army Analyst Says Making America Stronger Means Treating Immigrants ‘Better’
Fred Otto, who preaches at the staunchly conservative Church of the Nazarene in Bisbee, Arizona, says that according to the Bible we are all immigrants — all aliens — on this earth. “There’s a lot of language in the Bible about remembering the aliens and remembering the sojourner,” he says. Read More
The Bible Does Not Waver, says Reverend: We Must Welcome the Stranger
When Rev. Jennifer Crumpton began attending Union Theological Seminary, in New York City, she also began working as a community minister at the nearby Judson Memorial Church, which partnered with an interfaith coalition offering sanctuary to people at risk of being deported. Coalition members “cared about the families, the personal… Read More
Immigrant Pastor Wants Fair, Streamlined Policy to Benefit U.S. Workers and Economy
Roland Kuhl, a retired pastor, sees the contributions immigrants make every day in his life, his church and in his community. His nephew’s father, born in Guatemala and living in North Carolina, created American jobs at his painting business while he was documented and continued after his visa expired and… Read More
Immigrant Families Keep a Small Town’s Church — and its Manufacturing Base — Alive
For 20 years, leaders of the predominantly white Trinity United Methodist Church in Dalton, Georgia, had had little luck attracting congregants from the town’s growing immigrant community. Today, that’s changing. A few Hispanic families have now helped the church earn a significant level of trust among the Latino community, says… Read More
Benedictine Monk and College Professor Makes the Personal and Religious Case for Immigration Reform
To Christians, providing hospitality and loving one’s neighbor are moral imperatives. For Benedictine monk and college professor Brother Simon-Hòa Phan, such ideals have obvious extensions into U.S. immigration policy. In 1975, Brother Simon, now 52, fled Vietnam with his Catholic parents and six siblings, escaping from the rooftop of the… Read More
Reverend Says Immigration Saved Kansas City Neighborhood from “a Slow Death”
Rev. Rick Behrens was born in the Central Avenue neighborhood of Kansas City, a few blocks from Grandview Park Presbyterian, the church where he began seminary training in 1982, and where he now serves as pastor. “It’s the only church I’ve served my whole career — I’m a one place… Read More
Columbus, OH Evangelical Pastor Shares his Reason for Reform
Rich Nathan, senior pastor of the Vineyard Church in Columbus, OH, knows what it’s like to feel out of place. He grew up in a Jewish home in Queens, NY, and attended religious schools, but he always felt somewhat disconnected from the faith of his parents and teachers. For many… Read More
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President: Christians Should be at “Forefront of Calling for Immigration Reform”
The Economist calls Dr. Albert Mohler “one of America’s most influential Evangelicals.” As chief executive officer and president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) in Louisville, Kentucky—the flagship school of the Southern Baptist Convention and one of the largest seminaries in the world—he oversees an… Read More
Conservative Christian Says We Have a Mandate From God to Treat Immigrants Humanely
Dr. Carlos Campo, a longtime conservative Christian and the newly appointed president of Ashland University, in Ashland, Ohio, is a proud fighter for immigration reform. Every significant facet of his life — from his family, to his career, to his faith —has reinforced the need to treat this country’s newcomers… Read More
Virginia Pastor Doesn’t Want to See his Parish’s Families Torn Apart by Immigration
As lead pastor at Iglesia Asambleas de Dios Vida, also known as Assemblies of God Church, in Manassas, Virginia, Juan Hernandez leads a church of approximately 200 congregants, many of whom are immigrants. “People from different countries bring so much knowledge,” says Hernandez. “They are doctors and lawyers. We have… Read More
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