After a conspicuous silence from evangelicals in the raging debate over immigration reform, two Baptist leaders have shown recently in the public forum that the opinion of Baptists on the issue is anything but unanimous.
Richard Land, president of The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, told President George W. Bush at a recent meeting that Southern Baptists want the country’s immigration laws to be enforced before supporting a type of guest-worker program.
Land said he told the president that Southern Baptists “are deeply offended at a very basic level when the government doesn’t enforce the law. And it’s clear that the government is not rigorously enforcing the law at the border or in the country when it comes to illegal immigration. As Southern Baptists, we believe that Romans 13 teaches the government is to punish those who break the law and reward those who obey the law.”
Land, who met with Bush and 14 others March 23 for a meeting on the topic of immigration, said he also told Bush, “If the government can convince Southern Baptists it is serious about controlling the borders, then I think a consensus can be built for some kind of guest-worker program that does not involve amnesty and that does not allow people who have come here illegally to jump place in line over those who are attempting to come into the country by the normal, legal channels.”
Other Baptists, however, are not only opting to support a guest-worker program right away — they are also backing citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
Albert Reyes, president of the Baptist University of the Americas in San Antonio and immediate past president of The Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT), was among some 50 signers who sent Bush a letter in support of an immigration bill containing legislation with both types of provisions.
“The core issue at the center of the immigration reform debate is justice,” said Reyes, the grandson of an undocumented immigrant and a migrant worker. “Where is our American sense of decency, the value of basic human rights, our love for children and families and fairness toward underprivileged newcomers?”
In recent years, the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and BGCT each have passed resolutions to encourage ministry to illegal immigrants. A BGCT Hispanic Immigration Task Force is examining immigration issues and trying to raise awareness of the situation.
“We support comprehensive immigration reform, based on biblical mandates, our Christian faith and values and our commitment to civil and human rights,” the letter to Bush read. “We value immigrants as human beings, made in the image of God. We are aware of the obstacles that immigrants face, especially undocumented individuals, because they are vital members of our churches, our communities and our nation.”
Pastors, leaders of Hispanic Christian groups and other evangelicals nationwide were among the signers of the letter, but one prominent group was noticeably absent — the National Association of Evangelicals. The Associated Press said this further underscored divisions among conservative Christians over immigration.
“The evangelical community is unified in our desire to achieve a balanced and thoughtful perspective on immigration that is consistent with a biblical worldview and one that accurately reflects our membership,” the group’s chairman, William Hamel, said in a statement without commenting on the specifics of the debate. (BP, ABP)
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