A coalition including some of the nation’s largest evangelical Christian organizations said on Monday that Congress should include “clear steps to citizenship†for illegal immigrants in any bill to overhaul the immigration system.
The group, the Evangelical Immigration Table, issued a statement of principles calling for an eventual path to citizenship for immigrants who would gain legal status under proposals that lawmakers in both houses of Congress are considering. “This call is rooted in our biblically informed commitment to human freedom and dignity,†the group said.
While the coalition has previously expressed support for comprehensive changes to immigration laws, including paths to legal status for those in the country illegally, the statement on Monday was the first time the evangelical groups, most of them politically conservative, have explicitly endorsed a pathway to citizenship. Â The groups include the National Association of Evangelicals, the largest national umbrella oranization; the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission; Liberty Counsel, a Christian legal advocacy group; and two national organizations of Hispanic evangelical Christians.
The evangelical groups’ statement came as the Republican National Committee released a soul-searching report on growth strategies that urged Republicans to change their tone and policies on immigration to recover lost ground among Hispanic voters. The report said the party should “embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform.â€
“If we do not,†the report warned, “our party’s appeal will continue to shrink to its core constituencies only.â€Â The report’s mention of comprehensive reform suggested that Republican strategists were endorsing some kind of legal status for illegal immigrants, but it did not take a position on whether to! offer them citizenship, a point of tense debate within the party.
A bipartisan group in the Senate, which has been meeting to craft a bill, has agreed on offering a path to citizenship, although discussions are still under way on how long it should be and what hurdles immigrants would pass along the way. The evangelical leaders did not specify how long a path they would advocate. They said illegal immigrants should first attain a provisional status, passing background checks and paying fines or doing community service. Immigrants would then become eligible for permanent resident green cards, the first step toward citizenship, after a “period of feasible years,†the evangelical principles said.
Robert Gittelson, president of Conservatives for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, said on a conference call Monday with evangelical leaders that a 13-year path to itizenship, which the senators are debating and President Obama has proposed, would be “rigorous but somewhat appropriate.â€
The evangelicals’ message is likely to be controversial in the House, where many Republicans have said they want a plan that would give legal status to immigrants who lack it, but would stop short of citizenship.
The evangelical leaders said they have encountered little resistance from Christian congregations to their immigration policy. Galen Carey, vice president of government relations for the National Association of Evangelicals, said on the call that “quite a remarkable degree of consensus is growing†among evangelicals in favor of comprehensive legislation, a major shift on the issue, he said, in the last few years.
