Faith leaders pray for immigration reform

Feb 20, 2010 — The Miami Herald

Jaweed Kaleem

Feb. 20, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Jose Dugand can almost predict the stories he increasingly hears each week from undocumented immigrants as the pastor at Ekklesia Global Church.

"One person will say he received a deportation letter and is going to go in hiding, a dad will lose his under-the-table job and can't find another one without paperwork," he says of the 1,500-member Hispanic congregation at his evangelical church in West Kendall. "Kids come to me scared."

On a recent Tuesday night, he reached his hands toward the sky, closed his eyes and led 100 people in prayer at a special service to ask for comprehensive immigration reform. "We are in the middle of a tug of war where only God can do something. I believe God can create a miracle," he prayed.

From prayers to political advocacy, the push for immigration reform is picking up among faith leaders who are attempting to bring the issue back in the spotlight.

The effort comes at a key time, as the leaders hope to keep President Barack Obama to a timetable he proposed last summer to pass immigration reform this year.

"Allowing the current status of America's broken immigration system to continue is morally unacceptable, economically unsustainable and politically unconscionable. People of faith want immigration reform enacted into law this year," says the Rev. Jennifer Kottler, director of policy and advocacy at Washington, D.C.-based Sojourners, part of a national coalition that launched a reform campaign last week.

POSTCARDS

The coalition, which includes the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, has ordered three million postcards to be sent to state and national legislators from churches and individuals around the country. It's also organizing 100 pro-reform vigils and other events through early next month in dozens of states.

Clergy say their faith encourages them to advocate for a better life for undocumented immigrants. Some take it further: We're all temporary guests on Earth, waiting for God to give us citizenship in heaven, they say.

"This is important to us Christians, not just because we are immigrants or sons or daughters of immigrants," says Dugand, whose church is a member of Christian Community Development Association, another national organization pushing for reform. "We have been called to treat the foreigners among us justly and to love our neighbor."

Dugand has met with legislators in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the association. Immigration issues especially hit home, he says, because his church has lost 15 percent of its members in the past three years because of deportations or families that have moved to avoid immigration authorities.

Changes to immigration laws are likely to meet fierce opposition and congregations such as Dugand's don't claim to have solutions, but are using lessons learned in faith to rally around the issue.

'OTHER ISSUES'

"There's not a very good chance of any immigration reform passing this year," says Yvonne Sawyer of Miami-based Family and Children Faith Coalition. "Unfortunately, the country has a lot of other issues that are getting more pressure, from healthcare to the economy."

With 720,000 undocumented immigrants in Florida and 10.5 million in the United States, faith leaders say that despite low chances at immediate reform, the numbers are too large to ignore.

"Immigration isn't something that is at the forefront of people's minds, but people are getting desperate, they are running out of options for getting attention," says the Rev. Frank Corbishly of St. Bede Episcopal Chapel in Coral Gables.

Corbishly is a member of South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice, a coalition that includes Muslim, Christian and Jewish clergy. In an unusual effort at reform, the organization helped organize a recent 17-day fast on the grounds of St. Ann's Catholic Church in South Miami-Dade.

Dubbed the Fast For Our Families, six South Floridians, including three undocumented immigrants, lived off only liquids in January and demanded the suspension of deportations and raids until Congress could tackle the immigration issue.

"It was important to draw attention to the issue of deportations, because there are a tremendous number of families being separated on a daily basis," said Monsignor Pedro Garcia, who ministers to many undocumented immigrants as St. Anne's pastor.

The fast, which ended after three people were sent to the hospital, did not get Congress' attention.

In one of the few recent victories by the immigration movement, Temporary Protected Status was designated for undocumented Haitian immigrants shortly after the devastating Jan. 12 earthquake. The Archdiocese of Miami, which has pushed for the designation in recent years, is offering free legal assistance for applications at a handful of its churches. Up to 68,000 Haitians in Florida are expected to apply for TPS, which would allow them to get work permits.

NEW SESSION

As Tallahassee gears up for the state's legislative session in March, faith-based groups such as the Florida Catholic Conference are preparing to persuade state lawmakers to support pro-immigrant laws.

"We understand countries have a right to control their borders, but people should be able to migrate if they need to sustain themselves and their family," says Sheila Hopkins, who specializes in immigration policy for the organization.

Locally, South Florida Interfaith Worker Justice is organizing a clergy training on immigration issues to be held in April. Meanwhile, churches such as Ekklesia in Kendall plan to keep on praying.

"We are going to pray for our governors, for our elected officials -- so we can find a common ground," Dugand says. "When we think of immigrants, we always think of people from other countries coming in who have different culture and language. But the Bible doesn't make a distinction in terms of who God wants to help. We are all one."

Miami Herald staff writers Trenton Daniel and Laura Figueroa contributed to this report.

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