In celebration of World Day of Migrants and Refugees on September 24, Pope Francis said:
Migrants and refugees are not pawns on the chessboard of humanity. They are children, women and men who leave or who are forced to leave their homes for various reasons, who share a legitimate desire for knowing and having, but above all for being more.
Here in our own political context, we might re-word the Pope’s powerful message to say: Immigrants are not pawns for Congress.
It’s been 90 days since the US Senate overwhelmingly passed a comprehensive immigration reform bill, but the House has done nothing with it. In those 90 days, more than 100,000 immigrants have been needlessly deported. Every day that the House dithers, wringing its collective hands about Obamacare or hyperventilating about the debt ceiling, more families are separated because of our broken immigration laws. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix the system, and we can’t let the House off the hook. As one new campaign puts it, “Real leaders don’t hide.”
It’s not only the right thing to do, comprehensive immigration reform is good for our economy and our society. Real reform:
- Keeps families together;
- Directly promotes economic growth and lowers the federal deficit;
- Helps businesses of all sizes;
- Allows DREAMers to contribute to our communities and become citizens;
- And much more.
So what’s the holdup?
The political commentator class is already starting to run with the “immigration reform is dead” meme. But they haven’t accounted for the real grassroots pressure that immigration reformers continue to bring every day. After all the talk, it only takes a day for the House to pass a comprehensive bill. Will you join us to help make it happen? It’s going to take all of us in this together.
Act Now
- Visit thecostofinaction.com and sign the petition.
- Send a “Real Leaders Don’t Hide” postcard to your Representative.
- Sign up for our email list to get updates on faith+immigration.
