VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS, 12/13/06)-Dr. A. Roy Medley, general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA), and Dr. Aidsand F. Wright-Riggins III, executive director of National Ministries, ABCUSA recently issued a joint letter on immigration reform in the United States (http://www.abc-usa.org/documents/Immigration_Reform.pdf).
Building on the 1982 Policy Statement made by the General Board on Immigration and Refugee Policy, this letter opposes legislation similar to the Border Protection, Antiterrorism, and Illegal Immigration Control Act (H.R. 4437) passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on December 17, 2005.
The letter decries the movement towards more repressive measures by the U.S. government on the issue of immigration citing increased difficulty for those seeking religious and political asylum. The bill also would have made assisting immigrants without documentation a crime, even for faith based organizations providing food and shelter to those individuals in need.
American Baptists are encouraged to contact their Representatives and Senators and urge them to consider the action points of the joint letter when framing comprehensive immigration reform legislation as the 110th Congress convenes in January 2007.
Andrew C. Jayne American Baptist Churches, USA Mission Resource Development