Raleigh, NC – On Thursday, House Republicans released their principles for immigration reform in an encouraging step towards fixing our nation’s broken immigration system. Unfortunately, the principles fall short of what is needed to create a roadmap for hard-working agricultural workers currently living in America to become full citizens of the nation they feed.
“Our broken immigration system fails to recognize the people who work hard to put food on grocery store shelves and dinner tables across the country. As people of faith, we take seriously the scriptural mandates to ‘love our neighbor’ and ‘welcome the stranger’ into our homes and communities. Legal protection would mean that our hard-working neighbors could stop living in fear and more fully participate in their communities,” said Rev. Lindsay C. Comstock, Executive Director of National Farm Worker Ministry.
Two weeks ago, House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy broke his silence concerning immigration and spoke in favor of legalization. “Legalization relegates hard-working agricultural workers to second-class status and takes away the right to choose. Each of our faith traditions teach us that humankind is created with dignity and respect. No person is illegal and no person should be expected to contribute to society without proper representation,” said Comstock.
National Farm Worker Ministry urges national leadership to continue working towards a comprehensive immigration reform plan that takes into account the God-given dignity of and respect for each individual by providing a pathway to citizenship.
