A band of influential religious leaders is urging lawmakers not to make any changes to a 2008 anti-trafficking law that was originally meant to protect migrant children but has now become a flashpoint in the crisis of unaccompanied minors at the border.

The Evangelical Immigration Table, the umbrella coalition of the evangelical groups, plans to send a letter to Congress later Tuesday that stresses opposition to revisions to the 2008 law, which gives more legal protections to children from other countries than ones from Mexico or Canada, and, in practice, makes it more difficult to deport them.

Signers of the letter include leaders from groups such as the National Association of Evangelicals, World Relief, Bread for the World, Christian Community Development Association, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, World Vision U.S. and Sojourners.