Southern Baptists and Mormons Come Out in Support of Legal
Status For Undocumented Immigrants

America's Voice
The Power to Win Common Sense Immigration Reform

June 21, 2011

http://americasvoiceonline.org/blog/entry/southern_baptists_mormons_support_of_legal_status_for_undocumented/

My colleagues just came back from Netroots Nation cheering
the inclusion of immigration reform squarely on the
progressive agenda.  While they were geeking out in
Minneapolis, the Southern Baptists were getting busy at
their own convention in Phoenix, passing a resolution in
support of immigration reform.

That's right: THE Southern Baptists -- the largest, and one
of the most conservative denominations of Evangelicals in
the country.

Just the week before that, the Church of Jesus Christ of the
Latter Day Saints (LDS) joined the ranks of immigration
reform supporters.  The Mormons are arguably the other most
conservative, large denomination in the country.

This is huge.

These are the constituents and organizations that
conservative politicians most care about.  They are the ones
who vote, donate money, and provide them moral legitimacy.
Each time one of these churches speaks up (staking a moral
claim for immigrants to "square themselves with the law," as
the LDS statement described it), the conservatives in
Congress who have been blocking immigration reform for
years, claiming to represent their constituencies, have a
little less ground to stand on.

Yesterday's Arizona Republic notes:

When it comes to immigration reform, faith leaders and the
public get it. Politicians need to catch up.

Faith leaders do not support illegal behavior. They have
grappled with the inherent conflict of supporting people who
have entered the country illegally and recognized the need
to move beyond the simplistic refrain of "What part of
illegal don't you understand?"

That refrain led to a law in Arizona that invites racial
profiling and a new law in Alabama that targets
schoolchildren. These and other misguided laws, as well as
the ugly rhetoric and the wild accusations that have been
aimed at undocumented workers and their families, show a
clear need for strong leadership.

The churches deserve credit for stepping up and reminding
their followers of the importance of humanity and
compassion.

The Baptists' resolution also said:

We deplore any bigotry or harassment against any persons,
regardless of their country of origin or legal status.

Dare we say "amen?"

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