Bishop Sean Rowe: Welcoming Dreamers the obvious choice

From Allentown-

The current political morass in Washington has thrown light on a deep and ugly divide in our country and in our faith communities on the issue of immigration.

More than half of white evangelical Christians — a group that gave 81 percent of its votes to President Trump in the 2016 election — say that immigration is a threat to this country's "traditional customs and values."

In the same survey, conducted by Public Religion Research Institute in 2015, 70 percent of Hispanic Catholics say that immigration "strengthens American society." Other Christian groups fall in between, but only among white evangelicals does the majority report being threatened by immigration.

Proponents of these sharply contrasting views are on center stage as Congress prepares to negotiate what Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York called "a global agreement" that will include the fate of the young people who live in this country under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program initiated by President Obama in 2012 and ended by President Trump last September.

More here-

http://www.mcall.com/opinion/yourview/mc-daca-immigration-episcopal-rowe-0129-20180128-story.html

In NYT Open Letter, Bishops Implore President, Congress not to end DACA

From The House of Bishops-

The letter shown below, signed by Bishops Dietsche, Shin and Glasspool, Presiding Bishop Curry and 130+ other bishops, appeared this morning on page 17 of the New York Times.

If this is difficult to read on your device, the text of the letter is reproduced lower down the page. Please click here to go directly to it.

For a pdf of the letter as submitted to the NYT for printing, click here.

More here-

https://www.dioceseny.org/in-nyt-open-letter-bishops-implore-president-congress-not-to-end-daca/

Presiding Bishop, President of House of Deputies on DACA: We stand with the Dreamers and will do all that we can to support them

From The Episcopal Church-

Today our hearts are with those known as the Dreamers—those young women and men who were brought to this country as children, who were raised here and whose primary cultural and country identity is American. We believe that these young people are children of God and deserve a chance to live full lives, free from fear of deportation to countries that they may have never known and whose languages they may not speak. As people of faith, our obligation is first to the most vulnerable, especially to children. In this moment, we are called by God to protect Dreamers from being punished for something they had no agency in doing.

Since 2012, individuals who are undocumented and who were brought to the U.S. as children have benefitted from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Through this program, those eligible have the opportunity to obtain a work permit and can secure protection from deportation. The nearly 800,000 recipients of DACA have proven that when given the opportunity, they succeed and contribute positively to our country. Without protection afforded by DACA or a legislative solution, these young people will live in fear of arrest, detention, and deportation to countries they may not remember. In six months those fears may become reality, so we must use that time wisely to advocate for their protection.


https://www.episcopalchurch.org/posts/publicaffairs/presiding-bishop-president-house-deputies-daca-we-stand-dreamers-and-will-do-all