As a faith leader in North Carolina, I was dismayed to see Congress pass a recent funding bill that will harm some members of our communities by expanding immigration detention and other enforcement efforts. This comes on the heels of North Carolina’s Senator Tillis being a key negotiator for a recent Senate deal that would have provided a life-changing increase in family visas for immigrants along with policies that would have hurt other immigrants and people seeking safety.
I call on Senator Tillis to work with Congress and the Biden administration to strengthen our state, nation, and economy—and uphold the biblical mandate to welcome the sojourner—by supporting the family-based immigration system. An enforcement and punishment approach does not work to deter immigration. Desperate people facing gang violence, sexual abuse, and other threats will pursue any avenue available to protect themselves and their loved ones. Wouldn’t you, Senator Tillis? Strengthening existing legal pathways like the family immigration system is one way to keep families safe while alleviating pressures at our border.
Family unity is both an American value and a Christian value, and it has long been a cornerstone of U.S. immigration policy. Believing that our country is stronger when families are together, Congress created an immigration system that allows U.S. citizens and permanent residents to sponsor family members to join them and build a home here. Every day, as a faith leaders, we I see how immigrant families benefit North Carolina—from participating in our congregations to starting businesses and filling jobs in our state.
But the family immigration system is in desperate need of reform today. Four million people are currently marooned abroad in green card backlogs, forced to wait years to be reunited with their families. Such delays force those in dangerous situations to pursue any possible avenue to safety—including risking their lives by coming to the border, itself a dangerous place, hoping to be reunited with their families.
Senator Tillis has a window of opportunity to work with Congress and the Biden Administration to address this crisis and deliver real policy wins. Two relatively simple administrative changes can be made today that would benefit both our nation and immigrant families.
First, the U.S. must recapture unused green cards. Every year, thousands of green cards that could be used to reunite families and bring workers to the U.S. go to waste because of processing delays, technical errors, and funding shortages. Second, providing family reunification parole for people from all countries in visa backlogs would allow family members to come to the U.S. while they wait for their green cards. This simple change, along with recapturing visas, would allow loved ones to be reunited while spurring economic growth.
At a time when North Carolina is continuing to face labor shortages, it is common sense to invest in family immigration. Immigrants fill essential jobs in healthcare, agriculture, and other industries we depend upon while contributing billions in taxes. Studies also show that immigrants improve community safety, being significantly less likely to commit crimes than people born in the U.S.
Investing in the family immigration system is a win-win strategy. It reunites families, supports our communities and economy, and alleviates pressures at the border by strengthening existing legal pathways to immigrate.
The Christian faith, along with many other religious traditions, provides special instructions for caring for immigrants and refugees in recognition that they are some of the most vulnerable people on the planet. Likewise, we know firsthand how our immigrant neighbors enrich our communities through their hard work, service, and strong family values. Wasting time risks their lives. We implore Senator Tillis to uphold the American values of offering refuge to the “huddled masses yearning to breathe free” and fulfill his own Christian duty to “love the immigrant as yourself” (Leviticus 19:34) by supporting immigrant families. We will all be blessed by the outcome.
