MEDIA ALERT: Interfaith News Conference on Immigration Concerns
Who: Interfaith Religious Leaders
Speakers from Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh faith traditions
What: Phone-In News Conference
When: Tuesday, September 12, 2006 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time
3:00 - 3:30 p.m. Religious Perspectives
3:30 - 4:00 p.m. Question & Answer Session
How: Call 1-800-290-9461 and mention pass code 4134
Interfaith religious leaders from across the country will call on Congress to stop playing politics with the immigration policy debate. They will urge legislators to enact comprehensive immigration reform that provides security, a stable workforce, and a path to legalization and that respects the faith-based and national value of family unity.
"Now some legislators are pushing for a 'border security only' bill, but that is not what we need," said the Rev. Joan Maruskin, Washington Representative for the immigration program of global humanitarian agency Church World Service, a sponsor of Tuesday's phone-in news conference. "Such an approach negates the importance of immigrant workers to our country and economy, and ignores the concerns of the many American families that are made up of both documented and undocumented members.
"The United States already has the laws it needs to ensure border security - if only it would enforce those laws," she said. "What our nation needs - now - are workable solutions that result in comprehensive immigration reform."
Moderator: Ralston H. Deffenbaugh, Jr., Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, Baltimore, Md.
Speakers will include:
*Bishop Stephen P. Bouman, Metropolitan New York Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, New York City.
*Dr. Rev. Mari Castellanos, United Church of Christ, Washington, D.C.
*Sister Anne Curtis, RSM, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, Washington, D.C.
*Father Michael Leonard, Chicago Irish Immigrant Support Center, Chicago, Ill.
*Dr. Khaleel Mohammed, Imam and Professor of Religion, San Diego State University, San Diego, Calif.
*Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Jr., National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, Sacramento, Calif.
*Bhai Gurdarshan Singh, Guru Gobind Singh Foundation, Rockville, Md.
*Rabbi Scott Sperling, The Union for Reform Judaism, Washington, D.C.
For more information or to receive an audio recording of this event, please contact Cassandra Champion, Director for Communications at Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service at 410-230-2791 or cchampion@lirs.org.
Media Contacts
Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin - 24/7 - (781) 925-1526, jdragin@gis.net