{"id":7815,"date":"2006-04-18T16:56:22","date_gmt":"2006-04-18T21:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/?p=7815"},"modified":"2011-07-06T08:31:04","modified_gmt":"2011-07-06T13:31:04","slug":"4857","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/04\/18\/4857\/","title":{"rendered":"Immigration Reform Supported by Covenant Hispanic Leaders"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>CHICAGO, IL (April 18, 2006)  &#8211; Officers in the Hispanic ministries  organization of the Evangelical Covenant Church have endorsed a letter  calling for immigration reform that includes securing borders and giving  current undocumented workers the opportunity to apply for citizenship.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We cannot be absent in such a time as this,&#8221; says Walter Contreras,  coordinator of Ministerios Hispanos de la Iglesia del Pacto Evang\u00e9lico  (MHIPE) .<\/p>\n<p>Last month, Esperanza USA, a faith-based Hispanic organization, issued  an open letter to evangelical leaders addressing comprehensive  immigration reform. The letter raises theological issues and then lists  broad principles for reform that closely parallel a bill recently passed  in the U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to calling for secure borders, the letter states,  &#8220;Legislative attempts to criminalize routine acts of mercy, compassion,  spiritual counsel, and humanitarian aid are unchristian.&#8221; A bill passed  by the U.S. House of Representatives last December would make illegal  immigration and assistance to illegal immigrants a felony class offense.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t criminalize people,&#8221; Contreras says.<\/p>\n<p>The document also opposes amnesty, but supports &#8220;a probation period for  those who entered illegally, but wish to stay in the United States.&#8221; The  probation would apply to immigrants who have broken only immigration  laws. Workers also would be required to pay fines for having broken the  immigration laws. Following the probationary period, they &#8220;would then be  allowed to wait behind those already in application for residency and,  if desirable, citizenship.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Supporting the document is important, Contreras says, because many  pastors are unaware of the issues. &#8220;We need to communicate and inform  our people.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The Covenant has nearly 50 Hispanic churches and the number continues to  grow, notes Contreras, who also is the director of church planting for  the Pacific Southwest Conference. Many of the pastors serve undocumented  residents, he adds.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;These churches are part of the mission,&#8221; Contreras says. &#8220;They give  their tithe. They are contributing. They are family.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Contreras hopes Covenant churches will help promote the ideals of the  Esperanza document as part of its commitment to the marginalized. &#8220;One  of the reasons I joined the Covenant was because I discerned the  Covenant has a heart for the immigrant,&#8221; he says.<\/p>\n<p>Immigration has become a prominent part of discussions involving  Covenant denominational leaders as well, including President Glenn Palmberg.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Our response to these issues must be guided by our Christian commitment  to Jesus&#8217; concern for justice and compassion to people in need,&#8221;  Palmberg says. &#8220;Obviously there are differences of opinion on some of  the details surrounding the issue of immigration; however, compassion  and justice remain as basic tenets of our faith that must help shape our  response.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Contreras says supporting Hispanic Covenanters includes becoming  involved even at a basic level. &#8220;We want to make sure that people of the  Covenant pray about this,&#8221; he explains.<\/p>\n<p>MHIPE anticipates that more than 40 Covenant pastors and other leaders  will attend the 2006 National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and Conference  June 6-8 in Washington, D.C. Participants will meet with their  congressional representatives and attend workshops. Roughly 1,000  ministers overall are expected to participate.<\/p>\n<p>Luis Cortez, president of Esperanza, is one of the featured speakers at  the Pacific Southwest Conference Celebration in Modesto, California,  this week. He also will participate in a special session on immigration  issues.<\/p>\n<p>To learn more about Esperanza USA and the prayer breakfast and  conference, please see <a href=\"http:\/\/www.esperanza.us\/\">Esperanza.<\/a> To read the open letter and the guiding principles, select the &#8220;Faith in  Action&#8221; link on the Esperanza page and click on the desired documents.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire?moderation_action=report_form&#038;object_type=post&#038;object_id=7815&#038;width=250&#038;height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>CHICAGO, IL (April 18, 2006) &#8211; Officers in the Hispanic ministries organization of the Evangelical Covenant Church have endorsed a letter calling for immigration reform that includes securing borders and giving current undocumented workers the opportunity to apply for citizenship. Report This Post<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Immigration Reform Supported by Covenant Hispanic Leaders - Covenant Newswire Archives<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/newswire\/2006\/04\/18\/4857\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Immigration Reform Supported by Covenant Hispanic Leaders - Covenant Newswire Archives\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"CHICAGO, IL (April 18, 2006) &#8211; Officers in the Hispanic ministries organization of the Evangelical Covenant Church have endorsed a letter calling for immigration reform that includes securing borders and giving current undocumented workers the opportunity to apply for citizenship. 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