Statement by Dr. Samuel Rodriguez, President, and Robert Gittelson, Vice President of Governmental Affairs, of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) Regarding the Standards for Immigration Reform
WASHINGTON, Jan. 31, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- "The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) commends the Republican Leadership of the House of Representatives for the Standards for Immigration Reform. Today, GOP leaders exhibited prophetic courage and conviction by setting forth the parameters for legislation that will offer a reconciliatory prescription for an issue responsible for dividing our nation for far too long.
"The document, while somewhat general in nature, is consistent with the Principles for Immigration Reform that we have been discussing with them over the past year. Perhaps more importantly, these standards largely conform with the Evangelical Principles for Immigration Reform that the Evangelical Immigration Table, of which the NHCLC is a founding member, has endorsed.
"To our organization, our primary and most immediate concern is for the safety of our families. Many of our member churches have experienced the tremendous trauma of having church member families torn apart by our broken and outdated immigration system. This attack on the sanctity of the immediate family must be fixed, and to that end, we support the GOP Standards, as they will largely fix this urgent crisis in our churches and our communities.
"However, we also recognize that the legal immigration system must be repaired for the safety and prosperity of our nation. The GOP Standards outline a sensible pathway forward that will heal our broken system, and restore order and the rule of law to this broken element of our society. Therefore, the NHCLC wishes to support the spirit and goodwill of the GOP in the release of their Standards for Immigration Reform. We are certain that the release of these Standards is a welcome and important step forward in the process of fixing our broken immigration system.
"Accordingly, as Evangelicals, and as spiritual heirs to Billy Graham's message and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s march for justice, we stand convicted and convinced that now is the time to protect our values, borders and Judeo-Christian value system. Now is the time for immigration reform.
"We thank the GOP for this showing of leadership on the issue of immigration reform, and we will be praying for our legislators to come together in the spirit of bipartisanship and common sense, and that the Lord will bless them with the wisdom to solve our immigration problems once and for all."
The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC) is the largest Hispanic Christian organization representing over 40,000 U.S. churches and millions of Evangelicals. For additional information, visit http://www.nhclc.org.
SOURCE National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
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