Executive Action
I have wrestled with this question about Executive Action (EA) both personally and also in how to communicate about it publicly. The topline message is that at its core, immigration should be a moral issue about people, not a political one about parties. It is about the heart of individuals towards the vulnerable. We still need Congress to act on long-term immigration reform for our security, our economy and our communities.
Thoughts on EA
No matter where we stand on administrative action, it’s only a temporary measure; we need a permanent answer to a system that isn’t working. Congress simply must act to replace a broken system that is hurting families, communities, and our economy.
Administrative actions falls short of the ideal we have always advocated for. Although it may help keep us secure and keep families united in the short term, Congress must take the lead on enacting real reform that respects the rule of law, boosts our economy, and keeps families intact.
How Congress responds is crucial. The new Congress will have a golden opportunity to present a clear vision on immigrants and immigration in America. They can pass legislation that makes administrative action moot, and be credited for replacing our broken immigration system.
No matter what branch of government we’re talking about, we need a compassionate response to immigrants in our communities. Polarization in Washington sometimes makes us forget that we’re talking about people and families.
Many are frustrated that inaction from Congress has brought us to this point. Immigration reform from Congress is the only real answer for our broken system.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep speaking for it until it’s reality: Congress needs to create a new immigration process that strengthens the rule of law, respects individuals and families, builds our economy and makes us safer. Millions of immigrants living in the shadows is not the answer, and administrative action may help but will never be more than a temporary answer. Congress must act.
EA and Implications for the Church
I that believe that God is allowing the whole issue of immigration to drag along because He is using it to radically change His church here in the US. Immigration will not be "fixed" in the US until His Church embraces and loves the immigrants in their communities. We see this issue as the tip of the spear for the church to catch God's heart on the vulnerable. The immigrant issue is only one of the categories of the vulnerable people that the church must change its attitude towards!
God is using this issue as a "wedge" to crack open “our” churches. I love how Matt Soerens starts the article A Clear and Present Mission. If our church were to disappear, would the community beyond our congregation weep? We will look back and say one day that God used this issue of immigration to cause a paradigm shift in the US church.
Ultimately this is just the beginning of significant change, not only in our immigration laws, but in the hearts and minds of people toward the vulnerable and specifically the immigrant. How the church responds to this issue will have huge implications for the church itself, the communities we minister in, and our nation. God grant us the humility to seek His face on this issue.
Thoughts on EA
No matter where we stand on administrative action, it’s only a temporary measure; we need a permanent answer to a system that isn’t working. Congress simply must act to replace a broken system that is hurting families, communities, and our economy.
Administrative actions falls short of the ideal we have always advocated for. Although it may help keep us secure and keep families united in the short term, Congress must take the lead on enacting real reform that respects the rule of law, boosts our economy, and keeps families intact.
How Congress responds is crucial. The new Congress will have a golden opportunity to present a clear vision on immigrants and immigration in America. They can pass legislation that makes administrative action moot, and be credited for replacing our broken immigration system.
No matter what branch of government we’re talking about, we need a compassionate response to immigrants in our communities. Polarization in Washington sometimes makes us forget that we’re talking about people and families.
Many are frustrated that inaction from Congress has brought us to this point. Immigration reform from Congress is the only real answer for our broken system.
We’ve said it before, and we’ll keep speaking for it until it’s reality: Congress needs to create a new immigration process that strengthens the rule of law, respects individuals and families, builds our economy and makes us safer. Millions of immigrants living in the shadows is not the answer, and administrative action may help but will never be more than a temporary answer. Congress must act.
EA and Implications for the Church
I that believe that God is allowing the whole issue of immigration to drag along because He is using it to radically change His church here in the US. Immigration will not be "fixed" in the US until His Church embraces and loves the immigrants in their communities. We see this issue as the tip of the spear for the church to catch God's heart on the vulnerable. The immigrant issue is only one of the categories of the vulnerable people that the church must change its attitude towards!
God is using this issue as a "wedge" to crack open “our” churches. I love how Matt Soerens starts the article A Clear and Present Mission. If our church were to disappear, would the community beyond our congregation weep? We will look back and say one day that God used this issue of immigration to cause a paradigm shift in the US church.
Ultimately this is just the beginning of significant change, not only in our immigration laws, but in the hearts and minds of people toward the vulnerable and specifically the immigrant. How the church responds to this issue will have huge implications for the church itself, the communities we minister in, and our nation. God grant us the humility to seek His face on this issue.