Faith-based immigration advocates are getting behind a new bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to strengthen border security, protect migrant children and create pathways for permanent residency for qualified immigrants already in the United States.
The Evangelical Immigration Table lauded the Dignity Act of 2023 for offering tangible solutions to some of the most divisive and thorny challenges of the American immigration system.
“We affirm this good-faith effort from lawmakers to reach across party lines and push forward desperately needed immigration reforms,” the coalition of national Christian groups said in a news release. “Among other elements, the Dignity Act would invest in border security, create a path to citizenship for Dreamers and other longtime residents of the U.S. stuck in perpetual ‘temporary’ status and establish a process by which the broader population of undocumented immigrants could come forward, pay fines and then earn the chance to stay permanently in the U.S., including the option to pursue naturalization.”
Introduced in the House May 23, the proposal aims to end illegal immigration and keep the U.S. economically competitive by bolstering the nation’s workforce.
Salazar’s congressional website says the legislation is inspired by the biblical principles of redemption and dignity.
Key elements include resuming border wall construction, hiring more U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers, upgrading border security equipment and infrastructure, and authorizing the Department of Homeland Security to request National Guard troops for southern border security, according to the House summary of the bill.
The measure also limits how long migrant children can be detained before being reunited with their parents, mandates State Department strategies for countering the underlying causes of immigration from Central American nations and establishes an immigrant-funded program for training American workers.
The act is co-sponsored by U.S. Reps. Maria Elvira Salazar, a Florida Republican, and Veronica Escobar, a Texas Democrat. Salazar’s congressional website says the legislation is inspired by the biblical principles of redemption and dignity and that it will return order and fairness to a broken immigration system. Its language was prepared with input from security experts and from U.S. agriculture, business, religious and nonprofit leaders.
Maria Elvira Salazar
Veronica Escobar
“Our broken immigration system is frustrating Americans, causing people to suffer and fracturing our country — economically, morally, socially and politically. A solution is long overdue,” Salazar said. “This bill gives dignity to the border agents who need support, the job creators who need employees, the American people who need secure borders, and those who currently live in the shadows.”
A bipartisan solution is needed for the humanitarian crisis created by the country’s dysfunctional immigration system, Escobar said.
“I have seen the toll our broken immigration system has on federal personnel, local representatives, nonprofits and the migrants themselves, and the need for a realistic, common-sense compromise could not be more urgent.”
U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, a co-sponsor of an earlier version of the act introduced in 2022, said the updated bill comprehensively addresses the nation’s immigration challenges.
“Both parties have failed to fix the problem for decades, and it is going to take both parties working together to solve this,” the New York Republican said. “The Dignity Act is a commonsense, bipartisan measure that secures our porous border, creates a process for those already here to pay restitution and integrate into American society, and fixes our legal immigration system so that people who want to come here can do so and can contribute to our society, our economy and our culture as immigrants have and always will.”
Myal Greene
The Evangelical Immigration Table said the legislation is consistent with the coalition’s longstanding support for immigration law that respects the God-given dignity of every individual, protects family unity, secures the nation’s borders, provides pathways to legal status for qualified immigrants living in the U.S. and is fair to taxpayers.
“Legislative reforms to the entire U.S. immigration system are long overdue, but the only path toward broad, durable reforms is through bipartisan cooperation,” World Relief President Myal Greene said. “Consistent with the biblical conviction that all human beings are made in the image of God with inherent dignity and potential, the Dignity Act would allow undocumented immigrants to earn permanent legal status and eventual citizenship if they pay a fine and meet other requirements.”
Brent Leatherwood
Brent Leatherwood, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said the act would remove the tension that has developed between border security and immigration reform.
“This proposal provides a framework that encompasses both those perspectives and, more importantly, starts from the position of affirming the inherent dignity and worth of each and every individual,” he said. “This issue is too important to be sidelined by partisan politics.”
Gabriel Salguero
Passage of the act is of the utmost urgency, said Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition.
“Harsh state laws — including in my own state of Florida — are making life increasingly difficult for our undocumented neighbors, including many sisters and brothers in Christ. The need for federal legislation to finally allow the undocumented to earn permanent legal status and, eventually, citizenship is more dire than ever, and the only way that can happen is through bipartisan congressional negotiation. I pray this bill’s introduction will bring us closer to those long overdue reforms.”