Moments ago, on November 20, 2014, the President of the United States announced that he would be making executive orders to give the opportunity for millions of people in the states who currently do not have documentation to apply for temporary legal status. This anticipated action and announcement has been discussed in the press and in our communities for some time, at times with great and heated debate. The discussion is needed as this is a complex and persistent problem in American public life
The United States has been trying to figure out it’s unique and demanding role in migration in the world today, and so far no persistent solutions have been found. The U.S. Senate passed a comprehensive reform bill in 2013, but the U.S. Congress failed to reach an agreement to advance legislation on its own, preferring a bit-by-bit approach that did not advance any substantive changes to immigration law or enforcement. Since the summer of 2014, the President of the United States has pledged to act administratively to change U.S. immigration policy before the end of 2014. Such executive action makes several million individuals potentially eligible to apply for benefits (such as employment authorization) from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
In the words of this presidential administration, “these executive actions crack down on illegal immigration at the border, prioritize deporting felons not families, and require certain undocumented immigrants to pass a criminal background check and pay their fair share of taxes as they register to temporarily stay in the U.S. without fear of deportation.”
In light of these current events, many are wondering what might be the proper Evangelical Christian response to the Presidential executive orders on immigration. The details and ramifications of such executive orders will be worked out over some time and should be discussed at length. Governmental decisions with these kinds of sweeping implications require dialog and debate. However, in the meantime, there are three best responses for evangelical Christians to the Presidential Executive orders on immigration…
Click here to head over to Wesleyan.org to read them or click the image below:
