wfn.org | ELCA Adopts Message on Immigration

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 16, 1998

ELCA ADOPTS MESSAGE ON IMMIGRATION
98-CC2-09-JB

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America (ELCA) adopted an educational "ELCA Message on
Immigration"  that addresses several concerns about U.S. immigration laws.
     The Church Council is the ELCA's board of directors and serves as the
legislative authority of the church between meetings of the ELCA's
Churchwide Assembly.  The council met here Nov. 13-16.  Assemblies are held
every other year; the next is August 16-22 in Denver.
     The message, recommended by the ELCA's Division for Church in
Society, is intended for congregations to use "as a resource for
deliberation on attitudes regarding immigrants and a resource to interpret
and apply ELCA policy related to immigration" as called for by the 1997
Churchwide Assembly.
     The message highlights specific concerns where U.S. immigration laws
"can and should be improved."  It included such concerns as facilitating
citizenship for immigrants, providing benefits for lawful permanent
residents, finding ways for undocumented newcomers to adjust their legal
status, providing fair ways for refugees whose temporary legal status is
threatened to find refuge in the United States, seeking consistency in laws
for asylum seekers and finding alternatives to erecting barriers along the
U.S.-Mexico border.
     The statement evolved from resolutions sent to the Churchwide
Assembly by the Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Chicago and New
Jersey Synods.  It is to be sent to all 11,000 ELCA congregations, and the
council action encourages the Lutheran Office for Governmental Affairs in
Washington, D.C., to share it with legislators as "future immigration
legislation is considered."
     "Immigration is a contentious issue," said Ralston H. Deffenbaugh
Jr., executive director, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS),
New York, "but, within the Lutheran Church, our experiences with
immigration issues are relatively uncontroversial."
     Deffenbaugh attributed that to the church's heritage in welcoming
strangers.
     "This message reaffirms that this church is generous and welcoming to
refugees," he said. "There's a kind of grace to see this kind of strong
message."
     The church's role in immigration issues is to respond to human needs,
to observe how immigration laws are carried out and, if the laws are
unjust, to work for change, Deffenbaugh said.
     "For me, the touchstone I use is 'What are the needs of the
individual?' -- as in the story of the Good Samaritan, 'Who is my
neighbor?" he said.
     David F. Hagen, a council member from Dearborn, Mich., asked what the
council could do to encourage ELCA congregations to provide lodging for
refugees.
     Deffenbaugh said LIRS has formed a "Detention Watch Network." 
Through the network, advocates are working with the U.S. Immigration and
Naturalization Service to find alternatives to detention, especially for
refugees who are elderly, very young, sick or pregnant.  There is a
possibility of building a network of shelters for those who can be
released, he said.
     "We walk a path that is delicate as we engage in advocacy on their
behalf," Deffenbaugh said.  "This message will strengthen our advocacy as
we walk that delicate path."

For information contact:
Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Director (773) 380-2955 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://www.elca.org/co/news/current.html