Immigration Advocacy Toolkit

IN-DISTRICT ADVOCACY TOOLKIT:.

IMMIGRATION REFORM 2013.

CRC Office of Social Justice crcjustice.org

Table of Contents Before You Go.......................................................................................................................................... 3-11 Christian Churches Together Press Release and Statement 2013 ......................................................... 4-7 A policy statement released by Christian Churches Together—a large coalition of Christian denominations, of which the CRC is a part, which exists to provide a context in which churches can develop relationships with other churches with whom they presently have little contact. Joel Boot, Executive Director of the CRCNA, signed onto this statement at the 2013 CCT meeting in Houston, TX. Interfaith Immigration Coalition Policy Recommendations 2013 ....................................................... 8-10 A document drafted by the Interfaith Immigration Coalition—a broadly based interfaith group dedicated to immigration reform and one of the Office of Social Justice’s (OSJ) closest partners. This document was signed onto by the OSJ and provides the framework for our policy recommendations.

Evangelical Immigration Table ................................................................................................................ 11 A statement from a broad coalition of evangelical leaders and organizations expressing unity on the issue of immigration reform and outlining principles that should be upheld in any reform packages that might be legislated. Joel Boot, the Executive Director of the CRCNA, is a signatory.

Requesting Your Visit ................................................................................................................................. 13 This is a template letter that you will send into your Representative’s/Senator’s district office to request a meeting. You should follow-up with a phone call a few days later to see if they received the letter and to confirm a date for your visit.

In the Meeting ....................................................................................................................................... 14-19 Agenda, Purpose, and Tips ................................................................................................................. 15-16 A purpose statement for your visit, a draft agenda for your meeting, and other helpful tips for meeting with your legislator.

Talking Points .......................................................................................................................................... 17 Additional information regarding our three specific policy recommendations that you will use during your meeting to explain your position.

Frequently Asked Questions & Myths ............................................................................................... 18-19 A collection of common questions and myths regarding immigration. Use these to address questions your Representative and/or Senators may ask or myths they may purport. It is not exhaustive, so feel free to do some research on your own to prepare for your meeting.

Before You Leave........................................................................................................................................ 21 A document detailing the CRC’s history on immigration reform advocacy, as well as a reiteration of our policy position and our “ask”. Leave this with your legislator’s office when you leave your meeting.

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BEFORE YOU GO… Christian Churches Together Press Release and Statement 2013 ………..……………………….. 4-7 Interfaith Immigration Coalition Policy Recommendations 2013………………………………… 8-10 Evangelical Immigration Table ……………………………………….….. 11

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Christian Churches Together Indianapolis, IN 46224-0188 Phone: (317) 490-1968 www.ChristianChurchesTogether.org Rev. Carlos L. Malavé, Executive Director (502) 509-5168 Email: CCTintheUSA@gmail.com Valerie A. Ruess, Administrative Assistant (317) 496-8656 Email: ValCCT@att.net PRESS RELEASE Church leaders urge fundamental immigration reform February 1, 2013 Christian leaders representing the breadth of Christian churches and denominations in the U.S. issued a strong and urgent call today for fundamental immigration reform. The annual meeting of Christian Churches Together released this statement at the close of their four day gathering in Austin, Texas.

The entire CCT meeting, planned a year ago, focused on the challenge of immigration reform, hearing from “dreamers,” a variety of immigrants and experts on immigration issues. Its statement comes as the nation’s political leadership has turned its attention during the past week to this challenge. The CCT leaders said they would engage this debate “as followers of Jesus Christ who commanded us to welcome the stranger.”

“Each day in our congregations and communities, we bear witness to the effects of a system that continues the separation of families and the exploitation, abuse, and deaths of migrants. This suffering must end,” the statement declared.

The diverse group, representing leadership from Catholic, Evangelical/Pentecostal, Historic Protestant, Orthodox, and Historic Black churches, agreed on these unified principles: 

An earned path to citizenship for the 11 million people in the United States without authorization.

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The priority of family reunification in any immigration reform.

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Protecting the integrity of our borders and protecting due process for immigrants and their families.

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Improving refugee protection laws and asylum laws.

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Reviewing international economic policies to address the root causes of unauthorized immigration.

During the course of the Christian Churches Together gathering, the group heard from immigration advocates from evangelical organizations such as World Relief, immigration policy experts at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, legislative advocates serving major Protestant denominations, and leaders from the Hispanic Christian community, among others.

The statement issued today represents the broadest coalition of Christian denominations and groups to address together the urgency of fundamental immigration reform. It will be followed by advocacy to members of Congress from the membership of denominations and groups represented at the Austin meeting.

The full statement is attached.

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Statement on Immigration Reform Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A. February 1, 2013 Austin, Texas Christian Churches Together in the U.S.A., representing the breadth of Christian churches and denominations in the U.S., gathered in Austin, Texas, for its annual meeting to focus on the challenge of immigration reform. We heard from “dreamers,” a variety of immigrants and experts on immigration issues. Through a process of prayer, reflection and discernment of God’s call, we agreed on a statement that provides principles for just and humane immigration reform. In this hour, as our nation launches a national debate seeking immigration reform, we call upon people of faith, people of good will, elected officials in Congress and the President of the United States to work together to enact just and humane immigration reform legislation in 2013.

As Christian leaders and Christian communities, we engage in this debate as followers of Jesus Christ, who commanded us to “welcome the stranger,” (Matthew 25:35) and advised that “just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25:40) As Christians we believe that all will be judged, in part, by the way they treat strangers in their midst.

"When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left." (Matthew 25: 31,32a) We acknowledge that members of our own faith communities have been complicit in the establishment and reinforcement of our current system through active political engagement and apathetic inaction. As a moral matter, we cannot tolerate an immigration system that exploits migrants, is inhospitable, and fails to offer immigrants the full protection of the law.

While immigration is often viewed as an economic, social, or legal issue, it is ultimately a humanitarian and spiritual issue that directly impacts millions of unauthorized immigrants and the entire fabric of our society. The Bible frequently commands us to treat the immigrant justly. Further, every person is created in the image of God and possesses inestimable value. It is therefore paramount that our national immigration system protects the basic human rights and dignity of all persons. Sadly, our current system fails to meet this test and requires comprehensive reform now.

The timing of our statement on immigration is ever more poignant given that our country is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. We are reminded that there are those in our nation whose forebears were brought here involuntarily through the unjust institution of slavery. There are also those who lived here long before others arrived who experienced the denial of their basic human rights. Each day in our congregations and communities, we bear witness to the effects of a system that continues this legacy of separation of families and the exploitation, abuse, and deaths of migrants. This suffering must end. Therefore, in our relentless effort to achieve a more perfect union, we urge our elected officials to enact immigration reform consistent with the following principles and policies: Pathway to Citizenship The 11 million individuals now in the U.S. without authorization should be given an opportunity to earn citizenship, if the individual chooses. Many have built equities in our nation and have contributed to the economic and social fabric of this country. Such reforms would ensure that families are not separated

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and that the undocumented population can fully enjoy the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship.

(Leviticus 18:33-34) Family reunification Family reunification should be the cornerstone of our nation’s immigration policy. Immigrant families have helped build this nation economically and socially, and will continue to do so. We support changes to the family-based immigration system, which expedite the reunification of families. Family-based visa categories should not be eliminated or reduced and the current lengthy backlogs should be addressed.

(Mark 10:9) Enforcement and due process Enforcement measures should be just and include due process protections for immigrants. We support the right of our nation to defend our borders and to ensure the integrity of the workplace through immigration enforcement. However, for over twenty-five years, our nation has pursued an enforcement-only policy toward immigration, with severe humanitarian consequences. At the same time that our nation has spent billions of dollars on immigration enforcement, the number of undocumented in the nation has more than tripled. Millions have been incarcerated unnecessarily, thousands of families have been separated, and thousands have died attempting to enter the United States. We urge Congress to review our enforcement policies and restore due process protections to immigrants and their families in a way that respects their God-given dignity, including reform of our detention laws. (Exodus 1:1-22) The human dignity and image of God has been further violated as a result of the cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration agencies that leads to racial profiling of people suspected of being in the U.S. without authorization. Immigration laws should be reformed and implemented in a way that does not facilitate racial profiling. Enforceable detention standards and reforms should be established and include the review of partnerships between the federal government and for-profit prison corporations.

Refugees and Asylum Seekers Refugees and asylum-seekers should receive special protection as particularly vulnerable migrants because they are fleeing persecution. The United States has a moral obligation to continue to provide protection to ensure refugees and asylum-seekers are able to find safety in the United States through the appropriate processes and not at heightened risk of being returned to their persecutors. There should be improvements to the asylum process to ensure asylum-seekers are not detained upon arrival and are given a fair opportunity to express a fear of persecution. There should also be more robust support of the refugee resettlement program and adequate resources to help refugees integrate upon their arrival to the United States. We are also mindful of the millions of families and individuals waiting for resettlement, living, raising families, and dying in temporary refugee camps and the many who perish attempting to reach those camps. (Matthew 2:13-18) Root Causes In order to find a long-term solution to the problem of unauthorized immigration, the root causes of such migration should be examined. Persons should be able to find employment in their home countries in order to sustain their families in a place that is free from fear and violence. At a minimum, Congress and the Administration should review our international economic policies to ensure that they do not encourage unauthorized migration and do not eliminate living wage jobs in sending countries. Our

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country should help to foster job opportunities and respect for human rights in the countries from which many immigrants come. (Isaiah 2:1-4; Micah 4:1-5) As Christian Churches Together, we recommit ourselves to be promoters and examples of justice, showing hospitality and love for the immigrant; for we know we may be “entertaining angels without knowing it.� (Hebrews 13:2) We call for our nation to engage in an immigration debate that is conducted in a civil manner and does not dehumanize immigrants. We will speak out and educate communities about the past and current contributions of immigrants in building and growing this nation. Finally, we will work with our elected officials to ensure that, consistent with the aforementioned policies and principles, the human rights of immigrants are protected in any final legislation.

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Interfaith Immigration Coalition Members African American Ministers in Action American Friends Service Committee American Jewish Committee Bread for the World Church World Service Columban Center for Advocacy & Outreach Disciples Justice Action Network (Disciples of Christ) The Episcopal Church Franciscan Action Network Friends Committee on National Legislation Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society Interfaith Worker Justice Irish Apostolate USA Islamic Information Center Jesuit Refugee Service Jewish Council for Public Affairs Leadership Conference of Women Religious Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office Muslim Public Affairs Council National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd NETWORK, A Catholic Social Justice Lobby Pax Christi USA PICO National Network Presbyterian Church USA, Immigration Issues Offices The Religious Action Center of the Union for Reform Judaism Sisters of Mercy of the Americas Sojourners 3P Human Security Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations United Church of Christ, Justice and Witness Ministries United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society UNITED SIKHS World Relief

The Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC), a coalition of 35 national faith-based organizations, calls on the 113th Congress to reform of our broken immigration system. For more than a decade, the IIC has been working with hundreds of congregations, service providers, and faith leaders across the country to educate communities, oppose anti-immigrant legislation, and work toward humane immigration reform. In the past four years alone, the IIC network has organized more than a thousand prayer vigils, community forums, and rallies across the country in support of immigrants’ rights. As a diverse coalition, we see this as an opportunity to raise issues that should be considered as Congress moves forward with fixing our nation’s broken immigration system. The IIC calls on Congress to enact legislation that will: Address the Causes of Migration People of faith have witnessed firsthand the suffering caused by extreme poverty, violent conflict, political and religious persecution, and environmental destruction that prompt individuals to leave their homes in search of a better life. U.S. foreign policy must seek smart, effective ways to help reshape financial systems that unduly burden vulnerable populations – including U.S. trade policies, international financial institutions, and local economies in sending countries – toward models that support those in need.

Our faiths compel us to seek to reduce the need for people to leave their homes in order to provide for their families. Rather than current policies which undermine sustainable livelihoods in sending countries, we should invest in environmentally sustainable economic development that preserves and defends the basic human rights of all people. These policies will provide alternatives to unauthorized immigration and reduce the need for costly border enforcement, detention, and deportation.

Create a Process for Undocumented Immigrants to Earn Citizenship Any meaningful reform of our immigration system must include a fair and generous process that allows undocumented immigrants and their families to earn lawful permanent residency with a pathway to citizenship. The workability of such a program should not be hindered by overly punitive criteria, such as mandating that immigrants leave the country or pay exorbitant fees, or by making the process conditional upon the implementation of enforcement measures. We urge members of Congress to oppose legislation that would curtail the nature of citizenship or restrict access to public benefits and child tax credits.

Keep Families Together

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Families are the basic unit of strong communities. Today, thousands of families are separated by our broken immigration system and should be reunited. Backlogs at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the limited number of visas force family members to choose between being separated for extended periods of time or illegally entering the country. A fair immigration system must improve and strengthen the family immigration process by recapturing visas lost to bureaucratic delay to reduce the current backlog; reclassifying spouses and minor children of lawful permanent residents as immediate relatives; raising the per country visa limits from seven to fifteen percent of total admissions to reduce long wait times for certain nationalities; eliminating unlawful presence bars for the spouse, child, or parent of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents; admitting surviving family members of deceased family petitioners; and eliminating the cap on the total number of family-based visas available.

Enact the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act The faith community sees the DREAM Act as vital in fixing the broken immigration system. The DREAM Act has had many iterations, and the IIC calls on Congress to enact robust and inclusive legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for individuals brought to the United States at age 16 or younger, are currently no older than 35 years of age, and who have graduated from high school, earned a GED in the U.S, or are currently in school. In addition to college and military service criteria, the IIC urges legislators to include volunteer service as a method by which DREAMers can maintain legal status and earn citizenship. DACA recipients should automatically qualify for any legalization process, and their time with DACA status should count toward any conditional status period under the DREAM Act. Protect Workers’ Rights, Including Agricultural Workers There is a clear need to expand legal avenues for workers to migrate to the United States in a safe, authorized, and orderly manner. It is vital that these workers’ rights are fully protected, including the right to bring their families with them, travel as needed, change their place of employment, and apply for lawful permanent residency and eventually citizenship.

Enactment of AgJobs (the Agricultural Job Opportunities, Benefits and Security Act) would provide a legal, stable labor force by offering undocumented farmworkers the chance to earn legal status by meeting stringent work requirements and legal obligations. AgJobs would revise the H-2A agricultural guest-worker program to help employers fill critical agricultural positions that have been difficult to fill, sustaining agricultural industries while also protecting workers’ rights.

As currently structured, the electronic employment verification (E-verify) program has proven detrimental to migrants, employers, and citizen employees. It leads to increased discrimination and unfair hiring and firing practices. For these reasons, and because we believe all workers benefit from the enforcement of health, safety, wage, and hour laws, as well as the right to peacefully organize, the IIC is opposed to the mandatory expansion of the E-verify program.

Place Humanitarian Values at the Center of Enforcement Policies Enforcement policies must be made to be consistent with humanitarian values and with the need to treat all individuals with respect, while allowing the United States to identify and prevent the entry of persons who commit dangerous crimes. Over the past twenty years, the federal government has dramatically increased border fence and other infrastructure construction, border patrol presence, immigration detention, and the deportation of immigrants, without regard to cost or effectiveness. Over $10 billion of taxpayers’ money has been spent on border security. It is now time to reform the broken immigration system. To truly decrease unauthorized immigration, the United States should improve

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access to a fair and humane legal immigration system, increasing and improving the efficiency of ports of entry, expanding visa availability, and eliminating application backlogs.

Border security has also proven to be environmentally irresponsible on many levels. It threatens already endangered species and damages public lands and interferes with business and land owners who operate and live along the border. We have also witnessed the desecration of sacred sites and the violation of religious freedom, as well as the unnecessary anguish of community members whose loved ones have suffered or died seeking entry into the United States. Above all else, enforcement policies must treat all individuals with respect and dignity. Citizens and migrants alike have the right to a fair and humane legal immigration system that respects the dignity of all persons, prioritizes the cohesiveness of families and communities, recognizes the economic contributions of immigrants, and upholds our moral obligations to provide refuge and welcome for the sojourner.

Protect Refugees and Migrant Survivors of Violence The IIC encourages Congress to make life-changing improvements to the U.S. refugee resettlement program that would help refugees integrate in their new homes in the United States. Refugees have fled persecution into their home countries due to their race, nationality, religion, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group, and the United States has a rich tradition of welcoming refugees and helping them begin new lives. Bills such as the Refugee Protection Act, Domestic Refugee Resettlement and Modernization Act, and Strengthening Refugee Resettlement Act include positive reforms that would not only help refugees, but provide important resources to the communities that welcome them.

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) has a long history of uniting lawmakers with the common purpose of protecting survivors of domestic violence. Congress has consistently recognized the vulnerability of non-citizen survivors of violence by enacting provisions in VAWA that enhance safety for survivors and their children and provide tools for law enforcement to investigate and prosecute crimes.

In 2012, the House of Representatives passed a VAWA reauthorization bill that would undermine years of protections for immigrant victims and would actually make immigrants more vulnerable, endangering many lives. The IIC urges that any reauthorization of VAWA maintain and improve protections for migrant survivors, not weaken them.

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Evangelical Immigration Table Evangelical Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform

Our national immigration laws have created a moral, economic and political crisis in America. Initiatives to remedy this crisis have led to polarization and name calling in which opponents have misrepresented each other’s positions as open borders and amnesty versus deportations of millions. This false choice has led to an unacceptable political stalemate at the federal level at a tragic human cost.

As evangelical Christian leaders, we call for a bipartisan solution on immigration that: 

Respects the God-given dignity of every person

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Protects the unity of the immediate family

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Respects the rule of law

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Guarantees secure national borders

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Ensures fairness to taxpayers

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Establishes a path toward legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent residents

We urge our nation’s leaders to work together with the American people to pass immigration reform that embodies these key principles and that will make our nation proud.

Heads of the Evangelical Immigration Table 

Leith Anderson, President, National Association of Evangelicals

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Stephan Bauman, President and CEO, World Relief

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David Beckmann, President, Bread for the World

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Noel Castellanos, CEO, Christian Community Development Association

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Luis Cortés, President, Esperanza

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Richard Land, President, Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

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Samuel Rodriguez, President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

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Gabriel Salguero, President, National Latino Evangelical Coalition

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Jim Wallis, President and CEO, Sojourners

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REQUESTING YOUR VISIT‌ A template letter that you will send into your legislator’s district office to request a meeting. You should follow-up with a phone call a few days later to see if they received the letter and to confirm a date for your visit.

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[Representative or Senator’s Name] [Address] [Date] Dear [Representative or Senator’s Name], As people of faith and members of the Christian Reformed Church in North America, we are writing to ask you to take into account the biblical values of compassion, justice, and hospitality as you consider urgently-needed reforms to our nation’s immigration laws.

The Christian Reformed Church comprises nearly 300,000 members in the United States and Canada.

We believe that Scripture holds ultimate authority over our lives and, as such, must be the primary lens through which we engage social and political issues. Immigration is no exception, and our denomination has affirmed, at the highest levels, the need for real immigration reform in the U.S. Specifically, we have affirmed the need for bipartisan immigration policy that will: 

Establish a path toward legal status and citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent residents

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Keep families together

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Protect the rights of all workers and employers, including in agricultural and service sectors

Our Christian faith compels us to advocate on behalf of the immigrants who are part of our churches and our communities. The Bible tells us that God has a special concern for the foreigner (Deut.10:18, Psalm 146:9), and He commands His people to take special concern for them as well, particularly as people with an immigrant history of our own (Lev. 19:33-34, Ex. 23:9). Furthermore, immigrants— including many who are presently undocumented—form integral parts of our church communities, and as we see them suffering under the dysfunction of our current system, we all suffer (1 Cor. 12:26). We also see the ways that the current system, where our laws our regularly ignored by both employers and immigrants, mocks the God-ordained rule of law (Rom 13:1). Most undocumented immigrants want to become right with the law and embrace the responsibilities of citizenship, but present law provides no mechanism for that reconciliation to be possible.

For these reasons, we urge you to support reforms to our nation’s immigration laws that meet these principles. As you do, know that you have our support and our prayers. We continue to work to further educate and mobilize our congregations around this pressing issue.

We would also like to request the opportunity to meet with you at your district office in [location name] at your earliest convenience. Please contact [Mobilizer/coordinator name] at [email and telephone number] to let us know when you may be available to meet.

Thank you for your service to our communities and for taking the time to consider our concerns.

Respectfully, [Names and church name of each person who wishes to participate]

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IN THE MEETING… Agenda, Purpose, and Tips ……………………………………… 15-16 Talking Points ……………………. 17 Frequently Asked Questions & Myths …………………………… 18-19

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Agenda, Purpose, and Tips Purpose To communicate to your legislator the growing consensus within her district that common sense, humane immigration reform is necessary. To express your uniquely Christian and biblical concerns for our broken immigration system and to communicate your perspective from a particularly CRC perspective. To emphasize a desire to see her support reform that emphasizes family unity, creates a workable and just roadmap to citizenship for all aspiring citizens, and protects the rights of workers and employers, particularly in the agricultural and service sectors.

Agenda 1. Introductions and thanks a. Introduce yourselves and share why this is an important issue for you personally. b. Introduce your church and why immigration reform matters to your particular faith community.

2. Share a personal story a. If someone is willing and has a story to share, tell it. Help them put a face to this issue and tell them how our broken system has affected you or someone in the life of your church.

3. Policy principles (see Talking Points) a. Share the Leave Behind to let them know where we stand on the specific policies. b. Highlight family unity, roadmap to citizenship, and worker/employer rights as our key policy “asks” (consult Talking Points for details) 4. Make the “ask” a. “Will [name of legislator] support legislation that will create a workable roadmap for aspiring U.S. citizens, will keep families together, and will protect the rights of all workers and employers?” b. Ask how the legislator is participating in the on-going talks on Capitol Hill. “What is the Representative/Senator doing to help accomplish immigration reform this year?”

5. Thank her staff for their time a. There is a good chance that the legislator and/or her staff will not give you a straight answer to the “ask” in the meeting. Make sure to tell them that you look forward to hearing from them soon with an answer. Leave the contact information of the “leader” and tell them that you will call them in a week to follow-up if you have not received an answer from them. This might feel pushy, but it is standard practice.

Additional Tips  Be sure to have someone be the “lead” and direct the meeting according to the agenda. This can be anyone that is comfortable guiding the meeting. 

Assign someone to take notes so that we can hold the legislator to what her staffers tell you.

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Leave behind contact information for the “lead” so that they can follow-up on the “ask”.

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If you don’t know the answer to a question, don’t make it up. It is perfectly appropriate to tell them, “I’m not sure of that answer, but I can look into it and get back to you.” Just make sure to get back to them with it!

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As research, find out how your legislator voted on the DREAM Act of 2010: o

votesmart.org/bill/votes/32984#.UUimjhzvt2s (Senate)

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o

votesmart.org/bill/votes/32955#.UUioJBzvt2s (House of Representatives)

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Be sure to report back to the OSJ (osjha@crcna.org) to tell us how it went!

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Have fun! Direct access to our legislators is a beautiful part of our democracy. It is their job to listen to us—so let your voice be heard!

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Talking Points Family Unity 1.

Families are the basic unit of strong communities. A fair immigration system must improve and strengthen the family immigration process.

2.

The “Gang of 8� proposal to limit the family visa program must be opposed.

Roadmap to Citizenship 1.

Any meaningful reform of our immigration system must include a fair and generous process that allows undocumented immigrants and their families to earn lawful permanent residency with a pathway to citizenship.

2.

A program of legalization should be workable and accessible. It should not be hindered by overly punitive criteria or be contingent upon enforcement measures.

Protection of Worker and Employer Rights 1.

There is a clear need to expand legal avenues for workers to migrate to the United States in a safe, authorized, and orderly manner. This is important to avoid future undocumented immigration.

2.

Enactment of AgJOBS, or similar legislation, would provide a legal, stable labor force.

3.

The E-verify program must either be completely overhauled or done away with.

4.

Employers must be able to have access to a sufficiently large labor force of authorized workers to fill their needs.

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Frequently Asked Questions & Myths This page is intended to provide you with some answers to questions your Representative and/or Senators may ask or myths they may purport. It is not exhaustive, so feel free to do some research on your own to prepare for your meeting.

Economics Q: Don’t illegal immigrants in the work force mean less Americans have job opportunities?

A: Immigrants typically do not compete for jobs with native-born workers and immigrants create jobs as entrepreneurs, consumers, and taxpayers.

Q: Don’t immigrants drive down wages for American workers?

A: Immigrants give a slight boost to the wages of most Americans by increasing their productivity and stimulating investment.

Q: Won’t increasing immigrant visas over-populate the U.S. and saturate the work force?

A: Immigrants will replenish the U.S. labor force as the Baby Boomers retire.

Myth: Undocumented immigrants don’t pay taxes.

Fact: Undocumented immigrants pay billions of dollars in taxes each year, often for benefits they will never receive (Medicaid, SNAP, Medicare, Social Security).

Myth: Immigrants come to the United States for welfare benefits.

Fact: Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for federal public benefit programs, and legal immigrants face stringent eligibility restrictions.

Myth: Immigrants send all their money back to their home countries instead of spending money here.

Fact: Immigrants do send money to family members, making it possible for more people to stay in their home countries rather than migrating to the United States. However, sending remittances home does not keep immigrants from spending money in the United States.

Integration Q: Why can’t immigrant just get in the back of the line and immigrate legally?

A: Practically speaking, there is no “line” for poorer and low-skilled workers to get into. Generally, to gain access to the U.S., one must be (1) highly trained in a skill that is in short supply here, (2) escaping political persecution, or (3) joining close family already here.

Myth: Immigrants don't want to become citizens.

Fact: Many immigrants to the United States seek citizenship, even in the face of difficult requirements and huge backlogs that can delay the process for years.

Myth: Today’s immigrants are not assimilating into U.S. society.

Fact: Today’s immigrants are buying homes and becoming U.S. citizens.

Myth: Immigrants are more likely to commit crimes than U.S. natives.

Fact: Immigration does not cause crime rates to rise and immigrants have lower incarceration rates than native-born Americans.

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Myth: Immigrants—particularly Latino immigrants—don't want to learn English.

Fact: Immigrants, including Latino immigrants, believe they need to learn English in order to succeed in the United States, and the majority uses at least some English at work.

Myth: Most immigrants are undocumented and have crossed the border illegally.

Fact: Two thirds of immigrants are here lawfully—either as naturalized citizens or in some other lawful status. Moreover, almost half of all undocumented immigrants entered the United States legally.

Enforcement Q: Shouldn’t we spend more on securing our borders and enforcing our existing laws before we can create a roadmap to citizenship?

A: We have never spent more on border enforcement, or deported more people, than we have in the last 5 years. Our borders have never been more secure—what more would you suggest we do?

Myth: Weak border enforcement has led to high rates of undocumented immigration. We should increase enforcement and build a wall around our border.

Fact: Increased border security and the construction of border fences have done little to curb the flow of immigrants across the United States border. Instead, these policies have only succeeded in pushing border crossers into dangerous and less-patrolled regions, and increased the undocumented population by creating an incentive for immigrants not to leave.

Motivation Q: Why does immigration reform matter to you personally?

A: This answer can vary depending on your experience, but should incorporate a distinctly Christian concern for the immigrant and the oppressed found throughout Scripture. Maybe you worship with immigrants at your church, or have seen members of your church deported—tell these stories.

Q: Why does the CRC care about immigration reform?

A: The CRC’s concern to see our immigration laws reflect more compassionate and humane biblical values arose out of CRC churches being presented with the realities of undocumented immigrants first hand. Many churches had undocumented folks worshipping with them and participating in their communities. Some saw these brothers and sisters deported or sent to detention centers. These experiences caused much soul-searching within the church, which finally adopted 13 recommendations at its synod (general assembly) in 2010, including advocacy for changes to our system: “We call on our elected officials to reform immigration laws in the United States and Canada so that they may be fair, just, and equitable regarding those without status.”

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BEFORE YOU LEAVE… This document details the CRC’s history of immigration reform advocacy, as well as reiterates out policy position and our “ask”. Leave this with your legislator’s office when you leave your meeting.

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CRCNA Meeting at the Offices of [Representative’s/Senator’s Name] [Date of meeting] Present: [Names of those participating in the meeting] Background The Christian Reformed Church, a denomination representing nearly 300,000 members in the U.S. and Canada, has been engaging the issue of immigration reform for several years. Synod 2010 was presented with a report that looked at the causes of migration and the current situation of immigration in the U.S. and Canada. It concluded that the systems are deeply broken and recommended direct advocacy for reform from the Church and its members. Specifically, Synod 2010 encouraged congregations and church members to support and advocate for immigration reform that will reduce the number of undocumented workers, to speak out against laws and practices concerning immigrants that appear to be unduly harsh or unjust, and for the CRC to engage in policy development and advocacy strategies that will lead to the enactment of fair, just, and equitable laws regarding those without status.

These recommendations reinforced the ongoing work that the CRC has engaged in for years on behalf of immigrants and refugees. They have informed the CRC’s advocacy efforts on immigration reform and have served to further solidify the Church’s position firmly on the side of justice and compassion for our immigrant and refugee brothers and sisters.

Policy Principles  Family Unity o Families are the basic unit of strong communities. A fair immigration system must improve and strengthen the family immigration process. o The “Gang of 8” proposal to limit the family visa program must be opposed.  Roadmap to Citizenship o Any meaningful reform of our immigration system must include a fair and generous process that allows undocumented immigrants and their families to earn lawful permanent residency with a pathway to citizenship. o A program of legalization should be workable and accessible. It should not be hindered by overly punitive criteria or be contingent upon enforcement measures.  Protection of Worker and Employer Rights o There is a clear need to expand legal avenues for workers to migrate to the United States in a safe, authorized, and orderly manner. This is important to avoid future undocumented immigration. o Enactment of AgJOBS, or similar legislation, would provide a legal, stable labor force. o The E-verify program must either be completely overhauled or done away with. o Employers must be able to have access to a sufficiently large labor force of authorized workers to fill their needs.

The Ask Recognizing the CRC’s history of, and commitment to, advocating for more just and humane immigration policies, Acknowledging the overwhelming public sentiment in favor of real immigration reform, Emphasizing that this issue is a matter of faith that is deeply important to millions of Christians across the country, We ask that [Representative’s/Senator’s name] support real, bipartisan immigration reform legislation that will create a roadmap to citizenship for all aspiring citizens, protect family unity, and safeguard the rights of all workers and employers.

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