Church groups call for US immigration reform
May 15 2009 by Ranjan Chakraborty
ELCA calls for immigration reform
Sixteen synod bishops of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) released a statement expressing their concern about USA immigration raids.
The two groups are among several mainline denominations and Christian activists who are calling on President Obama to reform the American visa system before the end of the year.
America’s President “has made encouraging statements about the need to overhaul our immigration system,” said the statement. “Without these reforms, children will live in fear that their parents will be taken away, business owners will lose clients and churches will lose spiritual leaders. Reforming our immigration laws is not only good for immigrants, it is good for families, churches, businesses and communities,” it continued.
LIRS is based in Baltimore. It is one of the US’s most vocal advocates of USA visa reform, and works on behalf of the ELCA, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and the Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
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