This issue of immigration sparks the heart of American democracy. If we cannot honor the destiny and the foundation of our country’s principles by welcoming the Blacks, the Italians, the Latinos, the Hindus and the Buddhists, we will have failed the very essence of what our forefathers…. set out to do, what historians call the “Great American Experiment”… This movement is not about immigration; it is about the soul of America.

Statement on Immigration by the Most Reverend Anthony Evans of the National Black Church Initiative

There are no easy answers, but the religious community is called to stand in solidarity with the oppressed….We are also called to acknowledge that racism has blinded most Americans to what takes place in our own kitchens, workshops and fields. For our nation to be whole, we must acknowledge that our lives of privilege are supported in thousands of ways by people whose labor is invisible and whose suffering is hidden.

Statement from the Rev. William G. Sinkford, Unitarian Universalist Association

…There are reportedly 12 million immigrants …who are living and working in America without legal status, many of whom have children who are American citizens by birth….We urge citizen Christians to follow the biblical principle of caring for the foreigners among us (Deuteronomy 24:17-22) and the command of Christ to be a neighbor to those in need of assistance (Luke 10:30-37), regardless of their racial or ethnic background, country of origin or legal status.

The Southern Baptist Convention on the Crisis of Illegal Immigration

Prophet Muhammad, as Prophets Moses and Jesus (peace be upon them) before him did, taught that one is not a true believer until they love for others what they love for themselves. Our greatness as a country comes from our compassion towards our most vulnerable members….An illegal person is still a human being. While no one should condone anyone breaking our laws, we have to realize that unless the economic hardship in their home countries and our increasing demand for cheap unskilled labor are resolved, we will continue hypocritically to feed this influx while dehumanizing its victims.

Immigration: A Muslim Perspective

We Catholic bishops commit ourselves to continue to work at the national level to promote recognition of the human rights of all, regardless of their immigration status, and to advance fair and equitable legislation for refugees and prospective immigrants. …For the Church in the United States to walk in solidarity with newcomers to our country is to live out our catholicity as a Church.

A Pastoral Statement by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The Union of American Hebrew Congregations has long supported a fair and generous immigration policy. Our people were and continue to be immigrants to this nation. We have benefited from open doors and suffered when they were closed. ….As new legislation is proposed to confront issues raised by legal and illegal immigration, we support those efforts that compassionately seek to regulate and to aid newcomers to this land, but we oppose those what will unduly restrict immigration or burden the lives of legal immigrants.

General Assembly of the Union for Reform Judaism Immigration Policy

Last Updated:02/08/2008
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