Senator Ted Cruz’s presidential run is premised in part on the idea that, by speaking to the “values” of evangelical voters, he can mobilize them in numbers not seen in a very long time. “Imagine instead millions of people of faith all across America coming out to the polls and voting our values,” Cruz said yesterday, adding that these voters had been “staying home.”
...
One basic fact about immigration reform that continues to get lost in the noise is that evangelical Christians support it. Religion writer Sarah Posner recently reported on polling showing that a majority of evangelicals want Congress to pass immigration reform and support a path to citizenship. Evangelical leaders played a major (if largely ignored) role in the failed push for reform last year.
I don’t pretend to have any insights into what motivates evangelical voters. But listen to those who do: As evangelical writer Jim Wallis has put it, evangelical Christians have long pushed for reform on the grounds that the status quo is immoral, and that we should welcome the “biblical stranger” among us who is merely trying to find a better life. Wallis seems to be liberal, but Posner points out that many evangelical leaders have advocated for reform on the basis of “biblical imperatives” that require us to “seek justice for immigrants,” though it’s not clear whether that message explains why many rank and file evangelicals do support reform.