}
Throughout the nation, Hispanic Christian leaders are responding to young people in their congregations and communities who are threatened by deportations. For years, the thousands of evangelical congregations that are a part of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, Esperanza, The Christian Community Development Association, Bread for the World and the US Catholic bishops have underscored a Christian commitment to support and protect young immigrants who are seeking to contribute to our society. Hispanic Christians are committed to the Gospel imperative that calls us to do good, seek justice and to welcome the stranger. Our commitment as pastors and community leaders compels us to defend the best and brightest of our immigrant youth who are protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
Some months ago, the Administration terminated the DACA program, with the expectations that Congress would pass a bi-partisan legislation that would permanently protect immigrants who were brought here as children. Despite some lower courts’ decisions providing a temporary protection for DACA recipients, ending DACA without a legislative solution leaves thousands in a state of permanent uncertainty. As the Administration’s March 5th deadline draws near, Hispanic Evangelicals and Catholics are concerned that the promise of a fix has not materialized.
Ending the DACA program places the nearly 800,000 young people, whom the program allows to work and live legally in the United States, at immediate risk of deportation. Despite the President’s prior statements that he supports these dreamers and that he would champion a “bill of love”, DACA remains in legislative and administrative limbo.
DACA has allowed hundreds of thousands of young people to pursue their dreams, contribute to their community and live without fear of deportation in the country they call home. Moreover, some estimate that it could mean billions of dollars in annual losses to the gross domestic product. No one is getting anything for free; DACA’s young people are working hard, paying taxes, contributing to the local and national economy and paying for their education to pave the way for their own future.
The families of DACA recipients may have had many reasons to come to the United States — hunger, poverty, violence. Whatever the case, young immigrants who arrived as children deserve our protection. Jesus tells us in Matthew 25, “for I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Scripture challenges us to treat the immigrant with dignity, respect and love, providing the same welcome that we ourselves would hope for.
As Americans, we live in a country built in part by the hard work, dreams and determination of generations of immigrants. As Hispanic Christian pastors and leaders, we see daily the struggle and promise of dreamers in our community. Not only do we see them work hard in our communities, we have also seen them graduate and pursue higher education and noble vocations that contribute to the health of our communities.
As evangélicos and católicos — we’re calling on Congress to protect DACA now and to continue to allow young people to apply for this important program. We also call on the President to do everything possible to protect DACA, including continuing the program until legislation passes that will ensure that undocumented youth can stay in the United States and pursue a path to citizenship.
The Church and a majority of Americans are united in support of the hopes and the future of "dreamers" in our country. Our political leaders have not found the will to align themselves with the will of the people. As Christian leaders we are committed to continue to advocate for "dreamers" until they are fully integrated into the life of this country of immigrants
The Rev. Gabriel Salguero
President, National Latino Evangelical Coalition
Bishop Mario Dorsonville
Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, DC
Member of the USCCB Committee on Migration
The Rev. Luis Cortes, Jr
President, Esperanza
The Rev. Noel Castellanos
President, CCDA
The Rev. Carlos L. Malave
Executive Director, Christian Churches Together
Bishop Jose Garcia
Senior Advisor for Prayer and Strategic Initiatives, Bread for The World
