Christian Leaders Call on President Obama to Lead the Immigration Reform Debate

New Interactive Website Launched To Engage the Growing Support among Faith Communities for Immigration Reform

WASHINGTON, DC - June 10, 2009 -- Today leading Christian voices joined together to launch Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform's renewed effort for compassionate reform in anticipation of upcoming White House meetings. Religious leaders on the call discussed the growing need for immigration reform and announced the launch of a new website and statement of principles as part of coordinated efforts within the faith community to pass comprehensive immigration legislation.

The nation is experiencing a growing movement and political will for humane and practical solutions to fix our broken immigration system. The faith community is prepared to support and help President Obama achieve his campaign promise to address immigration reform. A new statement of immigration reform principles was released today that calls on President Obama to provide leadership by fostering civil dialogue on immigration that reflects the best of our nation's civic and moral values. Twenty eight national organizations and over forty prominent faith leaders have signed the statement calling for change in our nation's immigration system.

To support the growing grassroots movement for immigration reform, a new interactive website was also launched, www.faithandimmigration.org, that is designed to equip the faith community to engage in the immigration debate. This site features organizing resources and a clearinghouse of information on the need for immigration reform and the role the faith community can play in supporting reform efforts.

AUDIO To access an online audio recording of the teleconference please visit:
RECORDING: http://faithandimmigration.org/pressroom
INTERVIEWS: All of the spokespeople are available for interviews. Jason Gedeik: 202-745-4633 / jgedeik@sojo.net

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE DISCUSSION:

REVEREND SAMUEL RODRIGUEZ, President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
"Every day that passes without Comprehensive Immigration Reform adds tarnish to the soul of our Nation. Embedded within the Historical election of 2008 lies a clarion call and a prophetic supplication for national unity accompanied by an alignment of our core values. Values that include both security and compassion, the rule of law and welcoming the stranger, mercy and justice.

We applaud our President and declare that we stand with him as he demonstrates that he is a man of his word. A word promised in the campaign to the immigrant and Hispanic community. A word affirmed and reiterated to the Hispanic Congressional Caucus earlier this year. Mr. President, this is the year. This is the year for Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The window is open in 2009. We understand the political realities of 2010 and pray that in 2009 you do not forget about a very important number. That number is 12 million people living in the shadows.

At the end of the day, the next few months will either see Hope make a pathway or Fear shut the doors. My prayer is that one year from know we can say Hope silenced despair, faith triumphed over fear and our Nation's soul is saved once more. "

NOEL CASELLANOS, CEO, Christian Community Development Association
"Our current immigration policy is killing people, and border enforcement alone is not the answer. Let's fix our current system instead of leaving families living in fear. As a minister of the Gospel that sees the negative impact of our current immigration system in the lives of my neighbors everyday, I, along with my colleagues, call for a full commitment from our government to fix our broken immigration policy today! Throughout our nation, parents are being separated from their children and families are being devastated as a result of an immigration policy that focuses more on deporting moms and dads than on reforming a broken system. "

REVEREND DR. VASHTI McKENZIE, Bishop, African Methodist Episcopal Church
"Working on the issue of immigration is healthy for America. It is healthy for our economy and it is healthy for everyone. It is too easy for us to fall into an "us versus them" position. Black vs. brown, Pacific Rim vs. the Caribbean, the Caribbean vs. Euro-centric. We don't have time to be divided and to be fractioned… but this is a time for us to come together and issue a clarion call for all faith communities to unite in the name of humanity and the name of compassion. We have within the capacity, the intellect and the heart to develop the legislation that brings all of us together.

We who are Americans of African descent understand what it means to have our families separated because of politics and policies. Our ancestors of African descent saw husbands and wives separated and children sold to other locations. We understand what it means to be forced into marginalized jobs and less than minimum wage jobs. We understand what it means to be victimized by systems that depended upon our weaknesses and then profit by our strengths. We have to proceed. This is the urgency of now. We cannot procrastinate any longer. This is the time to bring real and meaningful immigration reform to the United States of America. We have the opportunity to make sure democracy works through practice and policy."

REV. JIM WALLIS, Founder and president of Sojourners; the largest network of progressive Christians in the United States, and best-selling author of God's Politics and The Great Awakening
"This is the time for comprehensive immigration reform. The President has promised it and the White House is showing a clear commitment to it. There is a meeting next week at the White House on immigration reform, and things are moving and the debate will only intensify.

Second there is a growing movement across the country and a growing unity around support for immigration reform. This issue is deeply rooted in the faith community and it's important to note that this isn't a liberal or a "Left" issue, or even an ethnic issue. You see conservative Christian leaders who are Hispanic and African American and Anglo and all are saying that this as a critical matter of faith. This is an issue of faith or not just a political issue or a special interests issue.

You see people doing things and taking action. We were part of an effort that sent 30,000 letters to the Department of Justice to stop Sheriff Arpaio and his racial profiling of Latinos in Arizona. We haven't seen a response to an action alert like that in some time. We see clergy holding vigils at detention centers calling for just treatment of immigrants that were denied due process. Family values are at stake here. When you are separating families you are getting at the heart of our Christian conviction. You are seeing activity and momentum of a movement across the country. The timing of this is just right and hopefully this fall we will see a real effort from the White House on comprehensive immigration reform. What you're hearing is a rising tide of the Christian faith saying that this is something that we can no longer ignore."