Faith Leaders Join Call for Changes to Immigration Policy
Mike Moen, Public News Service — WI
MADISON, Wis. — Faith leaders from across the country say it’s time for the U.S. to end what they call inhumane treatment of immigrants and their families.
Nearly 450 of these leaders, including many from Wisconsin, have issued a letter to Republicans demanding change.
The message was sent to delegates and President Donald Trump as the Republican National Committee gathered for this week’s nominating convention.
The letter focused on the administration’s “zero tolerance” policy surrounding the detention of migrant children who were separated from their families.
The Reverend Ryan Eller, founder and executive director of the New Moral Majority, said Republicans need to step away from their anti-immigrant agenda.
“Unfortunately, the RNC has decided just to maintain its platform that it had in 2016,” Eller said. “And we think that that doesn’t reflect the values of the majority of Americans, certainly doesn’t reflect our values as people of faith.”
More than 60 faith leaders from Wisconsin signed the letter, including the Reverend Elizabeth Shank, a pastor in La Crosse.
She said, “To be a nation under God, we need to care for all of God’s children, no matter where they may be from.”
In the past, Trump has suggested the policy acts as a deterrent, while blaming parents for bringing their children to the country illegally.
Bonnie Margulis, rabbi and executive director of Wisconsin Faith Voices for Justice, also signed the letter.
Wisconsin is home to nearly 300,000 immigrants, and she said no matter their status, they should be afforded the same level of humane treatment as those who were born in America.
“They are a tremendous asset to our state in terms of the work that they perform and what they bring to us in terms of cultural diversity,” Margulis said.
The letter blasts the administration for still holding migrant children in detention centers, despite court orders to stop the practice of separating the families.
A number of other religious groups, many of them left-leaning, have issued similar pleas in recent months.
Originally published at https://www.publicnewsservice.org.
