Wall Street Journal:
By Laura Meckler
February 26, 2014
WASHINGTON—Religious
leaders who favor an overhaul of immigration laws are stepping up their
pressure on House Republicans, aiming to move the stalled legislation
and
show that the GOP could pay a political penalty for inaction.
This
weekend, Hispanic evangelical pastors will preach a "call to action,"
asking churchgoers to call members of Congress to demand passage of a
broad immigration bill.
The
program is being organized by the National Hispanic Christian
Leadership Conference, which encouraged its 34,200 member churches,
representing 16 million members,
to participate. It is unclear how many will do so.
On
Wednesday, nearly a dozen Catholic bishops and archbishops representing
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are sending a letter to House
members, urging them to
move immigration legislation. The letter is also signed by evangelical
leaders.
"The
frustration—it is no longer simmering, but it's boiling over," said the
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian
Leadership Conference,
who is meeting next week with GOP congressional leaders. "The
consequences are both moral and political."
In
their letter to House members, the religious leaders wrote:
"Common-sense fixes to our immigration policies are long overdue."
On
Tuesday, a similar letter was sent to lawmakers from the U.S. Chamber
of Commerce and more than 600 business associations and companies.
Last
month, many religious leaders applauded House Speaker John Boehner (R.,
Ohio) when he released a set of principles to guide an expected debate
in the chamber on immigration
legislation. Less than a week later, however, Mr. Boehner said it was
unlikely legislation could pass this year, essentially putting on the
back burner an issue that would divide the GOP, which has a majority in
the House, in an election year.
A
spokesman for Mr. Boehner, Michael Steel, replied that the speaker
wants to tackle immigration but that Republicans don't believe President
Barack Obama would carry
out all elements of a new law.
"Right
now, there is widespread doubt about whether this administration can be
trusted to enforce our laws, and it is going to be difficult to move
any immigration legislation
until that changes," he said.
The
change in course angered many evangelicals, particularly Latinos, said
Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical
Coalition. "The right thing
to do was sacrificed on the altar of political expediency."
Mr. Rodriguez said, "You really gave us hope, and then you took it away."
For
years, Evangelical Christians have strongly supported Republicans.
Hispanic evangelicals are much more likely to support Republicans than
are other Latino voters,
according to polling by the Pew Research Center.
Leith
Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, says
that could change. He said that older evangelicals may be aligned with
the GOP, but Republicans
risk alienating younger religious voters. "These young voters, who are
increasingly concerned about justice issues, are the activists," he
said.
Other
religious leaders are hesitant to blame Republicans for the failure to
pass an immigration bill. Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, who also
signed the letter
to House members, said both parties share blame for failures over the
years.
For more information, go to: www.beverlyhillsimmigrationlaw.com
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