Archbishop Duncan Signs Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform

by Rev Jonathan Kindberg

This last week Archbishop Duncan joined two dozen other heads of evangelical denominations in signing the Evangelical Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform.  Other signees include Leith Anderson, President of the National Association of Evangelicals and Jim Daley, President and CEO of Focus on the Family. Key in the framing of this statement has been Matthew Soerens, author of Welcoming the Stranger and member of Church of the Resurrection, an ACNA congregation in Wheaton, IL.
 The statement calls for a “bi-partisan solution on immigration that: Respects the God-given dignity of every person, Protects the unity of the immediate family, Respects the rule of law, Guarantees secure national borders, Ensures fairness to taxpayers, Establishes a path toward legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent residents.”There is some hope that this could become a reality this year as this past week President Obama announced there was, for the first time in several years, bi-partisan support for overhauling our nation’s broken immigration system.
 Archbishop Bob has been a keynote speaker at the first two conferences on Hispanic  Anglican Ministry as part of the Caminemos Juntos! initiative of Greenhouse and Anglican1000. There are currently 50 Hispanic congregations within the Anglican Church in North America. Many of our brothers and sisters in these congregations are undocumented and face a multitude of challenges, making this all of our issue, an issue of the Church.

Our Lady of Guadalupe in Chicago marches on behalf of the undocumented

It is estimated that currently there are 11.5 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, many from Mexico, though over 40% of undocumented immigrants are from other countries of origin such as Poland, India and the Philippines.  Most live in the shadows and have currently no recourse or path to change their legal status or pursue citizenship.
 For more information see: www.welcomingthestranger.com and www.undocumented.tv