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Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, speaking at an Evangelical Immigration Table press conference, Washington, D.C., July 24, 2013.

February 27, 2014|1:16 pm

Leaders from the Evangelical Immigration Table and U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops joined in a letter to Congress asking for passage of a bill this year that fixes the immigration system.

"Common sense fixes to our immigration policies are long overdue. As a nation founded upon the principles of the rule of law and the centrality of family, we can no longer delay fixing this system," the letter states.

The leaders note that they encounter the difficulties caused by the nation's immigration system through interactions they have with people in their faith communities.

"As leaders in our respective faith communities, we live every day with the reality that our immigration system does not reflect our commitment to the values of human dignity, family unity and respect for the rule of law that define us as Americans. Each day we witness the human tragedies created by our current system, including the separation of families and the violation of basic human dignity," they wrote.

Besides passage of a bill this year, they ask that the bill "respects the God-given dignity of every person, protects family unity, respects the rule of law, guarantees the integrity of our national borders, ensures fairness for taxpayers, and makes it possible for undocumented immigrants who meet the requirements to become citizens if they desire."

Earlier this year, House Republican leaders announcedthat they would pursue immigration reform based upon a set of principles they agreed to. Later, though, Speaker of the House John Boehner announcedthat passage of a bill would be unlikely this year because his caucus did not trust President Barack Obama to faithfully implement the law.

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Pass Immigration Reform This Year, Catholic and Evangelical Leaders Ask Congress

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VISTA Local and national immigrant-rights activists held a series of events throughout North County on Wednesday to call on Congress to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

The events were part of the Fast for Families Across America campaign, which asks people to lobby legislators and fast on Wednesdays in solidarity with unauthorized immigrants.

The campaign comes at a time when the prospects for comprehensive immigration reform appear all but dead this year. A broad immigration bill passed by the Senate last year is now stalled in the House and roughly 56 percent of Americans say immigration reform shouldnt be a top priority, according to a recent poll.

Many Americans also disagree on how to approach reform, with some pushing for a legal pathway to citizenship and others arguing for increased enforcement and stronger borders.

Fast for Families organizers said they want to push the discussion forward.

The campaign led by Eliseo Medina, secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union, and a handful of other advocates is making stops across the country over the next several weeks, ending in Washington D.C. on April 9.

On Wednesday, the group was joined by dozens of local activists including members of the North County Immigration Task Force, the American Friends Service Committee and Latinos Organizing for Action.

Their first stop was at the district office of Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, followed by a teach-in at MiraCosta College in Oceanside and a community meeting at Palomar Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Vista.

The nations immigration system is broken, said Cristian Avila, 23, one of the people traveling on the bus to Washington. Were here to have a conversation on how to fix it.

Avila, who was brought into the country illegally by his parents at the age of 9, and other activists are pushing for reforms that include a way for unauthorized immigrants to legalize their status.

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'Fast for Families' campaign stops in North County

Anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist predicted Tuesday that some sort of immigration reform will pass Congress, arguing that the United States immigration policy separates America from China and the rest of the world in the modern economy.

There are a handful of elements to reform some of which could move sooner than others, said Mr. Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform.

SPECIAL COVERAGE: Immigration Reform

I think we should have a guest worker program for sure we should take quality guys that come here and get Ph.D.s, we should hand them a Visa and say you want to stay and work? Wed love to have you stay here and start companies, Mr. Norquist said on CSPANs Washington Journal. Forty percent of our Fortune 500 companies are run by either immigrants or the sons or daughters of immigrants, so immigration brings a lot of talent, a lot of opportunity.

Its what makes the United States dynamic versus the rest of the world, Mr. Norquist continued.

The reason were the future and China isnt is [because] we do immigration and have a growing population and a more vibrant one. [Theres] a lot of whining that goes on during this process, but we watched 50 years ago and 100 years ago when our parents showed up, or got whined at, and now were whining about the new guys. But in point of fact, I think that well see some sort of reform because we need to do something, he said.

Mr. Norquist specifically mentioned that something should be done to address so-called Dreamers, or children of illegal immigrants brought to the country by their parents.

He is the second high-profile advocate in two days to make the business case for increased immigration, following remarks Monday from U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue.

Immigrants do not typically compete with Americans for jobs, and, in fact, create more jobs through entrepreneurship, economic activity, and tax revenues, Mr. Donohue said. Immigrants serve as a complement to U.S.-born workers and can help fill labor shortages across the skill spectrum and in key sectors.

The U.S. Senate passed a broad rewrite of U.S. immigration laws last summer, a key feature of which would provide an eventual pathway to citizenship for the estimated 11 million illegal aliens currently in the country.

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Grover Norquist: We'll see some sort of immigration reform happen