wfn.org | Church World Service presses Obama, Congress for bipartisan immigration summit

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

Church World Service presses Obama, Congress for bipartisan immigration  summit

States' moves to enact Ariz.-like laws 'a worrisome trend,' says agency

> CEO

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 26, 2010  -- Church World Service Executive
Director and CEO John L. McCullough today pressed President Obama to
convene a bipartisan summit with one goal - enactment of comprehensive
immigration reform this year.

Federal immigration reform has become all the more urgent, he said, as
Arizona and at least 12 other states move to introduce their own
"fixes,'' which threaten to create an "unworkable and
contradictory patchwork of local immigration laws that don't serve
national security, economic recovery or human rights.

"This is a worrisome trend that may not be easy to reverse if we
don't act now. The worst thing the federal government can do right
now is stand by and do nothing as other states follow Arizona's
example," he said in his letter to the President, adding his
appreciation for President Obama's recent statements that Arizona's
new anti-immigrant law is a misdirected one.

McCullough today also wrote all members of Congress urging them to
support and participate in a bipartisan summit on immigration, saying,
"This is a critical, historic time for the President and Congress
to put politics aside, act decisively, and exhibit the moral courage
necessary to do what's best for America and enact immigration
reform."

Church World Service is a global humanitarian agency supporting
sustainable grassroots development, disaster relief, and refugee
assistance and working to promote fair national and international
policies.

"As the Executive Director and CEO of Church World Service,"
McCullough said in his statements to the President and Congress, "I
write on behalf of our 36 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican member
communions, as well as 60 CWS regional offices and affiliate immigration
and refugee service agencies across the country, comprising millions of
people of faith, to strongly call for immigration reform this year that
reunites families and creates a process for undocumented immigrants to
earn their legal status and eventual citizenship."

He noted that â??fear and desperation have been plaguing millions of
Americans for decades due to our countryâ??s broken and antiquated
immigration system.  The First Lady was a witness just last week, when a
7-year-old girl asked her why you were going to separate her from her
mother for â??not having papers.â??

â??Americans are ready for a solution that exemplifies the best of our
national spirit, as evidenced by a number of events around the country
bringing together hundreds of thousands of people asking for action on
immigration reform.  Furthermore, numerous studies show that immigration
reform is not only the right thing to do, itâ??s the practical thing  to
do as it will help heal communities and separated families and generate
more than $1.5 trillion in new GDP over 10 years.

â??The alternatives to immigration reform are few: an increase in the
enforcement apparatus, which would take attention away from the real
dangers the U.S. faces today; massive deportation, which would cost
billions, cause economic ruin and would be a moral injustice, or
inaction, which would perpetuate the suffering, hardship and endless
spending caused by the broken immigration system.

â??If nothing is done to halt the implementation of Arizonaâ??s  S.B.
1070 and comprehensive immigration reform gets delayed once again,â??
McCullough concluded, â??we risk entering into a different phase of  our
history where racial profiling and discrimination become more the norm
than the exception.â??

Media Contact:

Lesley Crosson, 212-870-2676, media@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526, jdragin@gis.net

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