Bread for the World Hails Senate Passage of Bipartisan Immigration Reform

WASHINGTON, June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Bread for the World applauds the Senate's passage of the bipartisan immigration reform bill (S. 744) today, with a vote tally of 68 to 32. The bill includes significant amendments that will help to decrease hunger.

"We commend the Senate for passing this monumental bill. While reducing poverty may not be the primary goal of most contemporary immigration policy reform efforts, Christ's compassion for the vulnerable compels us to change our broken immigration system so that people are treated fairly," said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. "This legislation is far from perfect. But failing to pass comprehensive immigration reform is to perpetuate hunger, so we are pleased that lawmakers have taken this crucial step."

Approximately 38 million immigrants live in the United States—12.5 percent of the U.S. population. About one-third of all immigrants in the country—between 11 and 12 million people—are unauthorized. Bread for the World members have urged their senators to support any amendment that addresses the root causes of undocumented immigration, such as extreme poverty in countries of origin. And they have asked them to oppose measures that would make it more difficult for undocumented immigrants to earn a path to citizenship or prohibit authorized immigrants and their citizen family members from receiving needed assistance such as WIC, SNAP, and EITC benefits.

Bread for the World and other members of the Evangelical Immigration Table have taken part in the Pray for Reform campaign all week, during which evangelical leaders held daily prayer gatherings as the Senate deliberated its immigration bill.  

"We see global progress against poverty as a great exodus from hunger, and we know that international migration is often part of this exodus—as people move across national borders to escape poverty and improve their livelihoods," added Beckmann. "At the same time, undocumented immigrants in the United States disproportionately experience hunger, which is why faithful immigration reform must address hunger as an immigration issue both domestically and abroad."  

Bread for the World is now looking to the House of Representatives to pass its own version of the immigration bill. For more information on Bread's position on immigration, please click here. 

Bread for the World (www.bread.org) is a collective Christian voice urging our nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad.

SOURCE Bread for the World

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