Christians for Immigration Reform

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Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform

CCIR is a coalition of Christian organizations, churches, and leaders from across the theological and political spectrum, united in support of comprehensive U.S. immigration reform. We are working together to see fair and humane immigration reform enacted in Congress this year because we share a set of common moral and theological principles that compel us to love, care for, and seek justice for the stranger among us.

We call for an end to the unproductive, divisive, and fear-driven anti-immigrant rhetoric in the media, which has often castigated all immigrants, regardless of citizenship status, and derailed attempts at true reform. As Christian leaders who share the biblical values named below, we commit to fostering civil dialogue on immigration in our churches and in our communities. We call on President Barack Obama to provide the leadership necessary to move from the hateful rhetoric that has often characterized this national debate to action that will fix our broken immigration system. We look forward to working alongside the president to lead a new national conversation on immigration policy that reflects the best of our moral and civic values.

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Our shared principles include the following:

We believe all people, regardless of national origin or citizenship status, are made in the "image of God" and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect (Genesis 1:26-27, 9:6).
We believe there is an undeniable responsibility to love and show compassion for the stranger among us (Deuteronomy 10:18-19, Leviticus 19:33-34, Matthew 25:31-46).
We believe that immigrants are our neighbors, both literally and figuratively, and we are to love our neighbors as ourselves and show mercy to neighbors in need (Leviticus 19:18, Mark 12:31, Luke 10:25-37).
We believe in the rule of law, but we also believe that we are to oppose unjust laws and systems that harm and oppress people made in God's image, especially the vulnerable (Isaiah 10:1-4, Jeremiah 7:1-7, Acts 5:29, Romans 13:1-7).

We recognize that the current U.S. immigration system is broken and reform is necessary.The biblical principles above compel us to support immigration reform legislation that includes the following elements:

Enforcement initiatives that are consistent with humanitarian values;
Reforms in our family-based immigration system that reduce waiting times for separated families to be reunited;
A process for all immigrant workers and their families already in the U.S. to earn citizenship upon satisfaction of specific criteria;
An expansion of legal avenues for workers and families to enter our country and work in a safe and legal manner with their rights and due process fully protected;
Examining solutions to address the root causes of migration, such as economic disparities between sending and receiving nations.

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Comment on New Immigration Regulations

Every year, hundreds of thousands of families who are trying to follow the rules under our current immigration laws are separated for indefinite periods of time as a result of the severe policies of our present system. If they have lived in the U.S. without documents, the spouses and children of U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents face family unity bars that run between three and 10 years.

The processing change that is being proposed would reduce the amount of time families are separated by allowing a U.S. citizen’s spouse or child to apply for the family unity waiver within the U.S., permitting the family to remain united as it awaits a decision on the waiver.

Click "Take Action" to comment on USCIS's proposed rule, Provisional Unlawful Presence Waivers of Inadmissibility for Certain Immediate Relatives.

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Stop the Privatization of State Prisons

Earlier this year, the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) sent a letter to 48 state governors, proposing a remedy for states’ budget concerns: an offer to “buy” prisons in exchange for a 20-year contract with each state and an assurance that prisons would remain at least 90 percent full (Huffington Post).

CCA is the largest operator of for-profit prisons and detention centers for undocumented immigrants in the country. This proposal is dangerous for our communities and our democracy. This promise of a short-term injection of revenue to a state's economy, at the expense of human lives, will hurt all of us in the long run. Please urge your governor to reject CCA’s offer today.

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