568 FAITH LEADERS CALL ON CONGRESS TO PASS THE U.S. CITIZENSHIP ACT OF 2021

568 religion leaders from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) right this moment referred to as for the well timed passage of the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 in a letter despatched to members of Congress. The letter, spearheaded by Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), the nation’s largest faith-based group devoted completely to serving immigrants, urges elected officers to make haste in legislating long-overdue reforms to U.S. immigration coverage.

“Guided by our religion values and biblical teachings, we imagine that immigration insurance policies should prioritize and honor the God-given dignity of every individual, particularly those that stay on the margins of society,” reads the letter. “In view of a brand new alternative to make truthful and compassionate transformations to our nation’s damaged immigration system, we name on Congress to come back collectively round an extended overdue answer that displays our shared values as a nation.”

The invoice features a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants, computerized inexperienced card eligibility for Dreamers, Momentary Protected Standing recipients and undocumented farmworkers, sources to deal with the immigration case backlog, a rise in family-based visas, reinstatement of the Central American Minors program, enlargement of household case administration packages, and a rise of immigrant integration providers, amongst different provisions.

“President Biden’s immigration plan demonstrates that humane coverage is sensible coverage,” mentioned Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. “If handed, this laws will modernize our immigration system, hold households collectively, increase financial alternative, handle the basis causes of migration, and restore U.S. management as a refuge for these fleeing persecution.”

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is without doubt one of the largest Christian denominations within the U.S., with almost 3.3 million members in additional than 8,900 worshiping communities throughout 50 states and the Caribbean area. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is without doubt one of the most distinguished refugee resettlement businesses, and has assisted over half one million migrants looking for security and hope within the U.S. over the course of its 80-year historical past.

“We ask God to information our nation and grant the grace of a welcoming coronary heart,” concludes the letter. “To that finish, we ask you to work collaboratively, with haste, to advertise this complete laws via Congress and supply lasting options that may strengthen our nation for generations to come back.”

Learn the total letter signed by 568 religion leaders throughout 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, together with 52 bishops, Presiding Bishop of the ELCA, Reverend Elizabeth A. Eaton, Chair of the Convention of Bishops of the ELCA, Bishop Tracie Bartholomew, President and CEO of Lutheran Companies in America, Charlotte Haberaecker, and President and CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Krish O’Mara Vignarajah.