ELCA NEWS SERVICE

May 21, 2007  

ELCA Synod Bishops Join LIRS in Expressing Immigration Bill Concerns
07-087-AL

     WASHINGTON (ELCA) -- Three synod bishops of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) expressed concern over the May
17 Senate compromise on immigration reform legislation, according
to a May 18 news release from Lutheran Immigration and Refugee
Service (LIRS), Baltimore.
     LIRS is a cooperative agency of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America, Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and Latvian
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
     The Rev. Gerald H. Mansholt, bishop, ELCA Central States
Synod, Kansas City, Mo., the Rev. H. Gerard Knoche, bishop,
ELCA Delaware-Maryland Synod, Baltimore, and the Rev. Paul
Stumme-Diers, bishop, ELCA Greater Milwaukee Synod, objected
to the plan's cuts to the family-sponsored immigration system,
and its failure to present a fair and workable plan.
     "Our nation is founded on strong families that stand at the
center of our communities," said Knoche. "This proposal turns
away from that long-standing tradition and from the Christian
principle that we should welcome the stranger in our homes and
families."
     The proposal would all but eliminate visas for adult
children and siblings who are seeking to join their U.S. citizen
and permanent resident relatives, and would greatly reduce the
number of visas available for parents of adult children,
according to the LIRS news release.
     The bishops quoted in the release are among a group of ELCA
bishops who identified immigration issues as a critical priority
in their own communities and on a national level. The group first
met in March to urge their legislators to enact comprehensive
immigration reform that was "humane and for the common good."
     "We commend the Senate and administration for their hard
work on immigration reform, but we urge them to redouble their
efforts to develop truly comprehensive reform that better serves
families and the common good," said Ralston H. Deffenbaugh Jr.,
LIRS president.
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     The LIRS news release is at http://tinyurl.com/2t8mra 
on the ELCA Web site.

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