Disaster Relief and Immigrants: General Assembly Statements

It has now been more than a month since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast and many families are still without housing. The immigrant population is among the most vulnerable. This mailing to the Civil Rights & Religious Liberty — Stewardship of Public Life Network is a change from our usual format; we offer resources to use, particularly if you have undocumented survivors of this disaster in your area. Some of them may fear coming forward.

General Assembly Statements

1981 Statement - PCUS, 1981, p. 426; UPCUSA, 1981, p. 291
Mexican Migration to the United States:
Challenge to Christian Witness and National Policy

Mexican immigrants reveal again our divided mind about immigration. They are denounced as illegal, yet eagerly sought as workers. They are sent back across the border to Mexico with one hand, and recruited back to the United States with the other. They are told they are needed and at the same time that they are not wanted. They are regarded both as burden and benefit. It is in this setting and with the recognition of a unique relationship between the United States and Mexico as neighbors in history and culture that our churches are challenged to address migration issues.

Political boundaries are part of the human condition and are often useful. ...The boundaries of God's Kingdom are not the same as the boundaries of nations. The only boundaries the Christian recognizes are those established by justice and love.

Our relationship with Mexican migrants, then, is best understood in terms of love for the neighbor. How may we extend love then to these neighbors so that their humanness may have full expression? . . . Love means seeking community with Mexican migrants, an openness to the sharing of lives, an active appreciation for the gifts of Mexican culture mediated to us in their personhood . . . Moreover, love for neighbor also commits Christians to the pursuit of justice. Love extends to the poor who remain in Mexico, not only to those who emigrate to the United States, so Christians will seek justice in policies of aid and trade that promote the whole well-being of these our neighbors.

As we look at the human faces in the migratory streams between Mexico and the United States, we are struck by the extent of the need and the magnitude of the suffering. We are moved by the plight of the poor in Mexico which leads them to seek work in the United States. We are angered by their vulnerability to abuse, exploitation and injustice in their efforts to earn an income. We are grieved by the extended separation of families in migration patterns and the obstacles to keeping families together. We admire the courage of immigrants in seeking opportunity in the face of much uncertainty and numerous hazards.

[The General Assembly recommends:]

Immigration Policy — The following provisions specifically related to Mexican citizens should be incorporated into a revision of United States immigration laws:

Amnesty. Grant permanent resident alien status, based on proven residence for a certain period of time prior to a fixed date, to all qualifying undocumented Mexicans currently in the United States, including non-working spouses and dependent children.

Special Immigration Category. Provide a new immigration category, Temporary Worker, for Mexican citizens, . . .

Temporary Worker Visa. Provide a visa to entitle a citizen of Mexico to come to the United States for an initial six-month period to seek employment . . .

Proof of Right to Employment. Provide, through the federal government, some non-counterfeitable and nontransferable right-to-work document for all citizens and non-citizens legally entitled to work in the United States . . .

1999 Statement - PC(USA), pp. 353-355 The 211th General Assembly:
Transformation of Churches and Society Through Encounter with New Neighbors

Reaffirm[s] the guiding theological and ethical principles contained in the historical review of Presbyterian policy on immigration and refugee issues, and commit to rediscover its identity as a church of the stranger.

Christians are obligated by the loving will of God to seek to ensure that the basic needs of persons for food, clothes, shelter and safety are met (Matt. 25-35-40). Christians believe in the intrinsic worth of each human as a person made in the image of God. The Christian confession of Jesus Christ as Lord transforms "strangers" into neighbors who are welcomed into our communities. Churches are called to ministry with refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants, and to public witness on their behalf. Christians have the responsibility to challenge and to shape government policy regarding refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants. Love of neighbor requires Christians to seek justice for refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants. Faithfulness to Christ means Christians always live in tension with national values and policies. Christians may affirm certain values in national and international life as consistent with their theological vision of human community.

Reaffirm[s] the guiding policy principles contained in the historical review of Presbyterian policy on immigration and refugee issues and to utilize them to rediscover its identity as a church of the stranger.

Christians should engage in pastoral, compassionate, educational, and prophetic ministries with refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants. The United States should respect the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and adhere to international laws and accords that seek to implement standards of universal human rights. Sovereign nations should exercise their authority to regulate immigration with a presumption toward generosity rather than restrictiveness. The United States should open jobs to neighbors with a strong and continuing historical connection who need and want to work so long as there are jobs available and the poor already residing in the United States are not further disadvantaged. Restrictions on immigration should be enforced humanely.

Direct[s] the General Assembly Council, through its Ministries Divisions, to coordinate the various initiatives for ministry with immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers by: Urging sessions and presbyteries to develop new approaches to ministry with new neighbors and to share those models that are successful in order to be mentors and models for others; and encouraging presbyteries and synods as the locus of support to congregations and individuals called into caring ministry with immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

Reaffirm[s] the 209th General Assembly (1997) Resolution on "Welfare and Poverty" policy on the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, urge[s] presbyteries and congregations to respond to the plight of refugees and immigrants during the next year when public assistance ends, and to advocate publicly on their behalf so that their basic needs will be met. Advocate[s] for the repeal of sections of the 1996 immigration law that require state and local governments, and publicly funded institutions and programs (such as hospitals, battered women's shelters, WIC, church feeding programs) to report undocumented persons to the INS, urging presbyteries and sessions to do similar advocacy. The 211th General Assembly (1999) further calls on Christians who are under such reporting requirements to weigh in their conscience the claims of this requirement against the biblical injunction to shelter and welcome the stranger.
2001 Statement - PC (USA), pp. 62, 502 [The 213th General Assembly (2001)

Call publicly and openly on the Federal Government to grant a full legalization program for immigrants in the United States of America. Direct the Stated Clerk to advocate for the passage of an immigration bill that brings about comprehensive immigration reform to our laws and allows immigrants who work and live in the United States to apply and receive permanent U.S. residency status. Urge presbyteries and synods to advocate for the passage of this immigration bill with their respective members of the House of Representatives and Senate within their congressional districts. Instruct our offices in Washington, D.C., to work with the appropriate members of the Congress of the United States in the development of the most appropriate immigration reform legislation. Ask the National Council of Churches for their support on behalf of such legislation. Instruct the Stated Clerk of this General Assembly to draft and send letters to the president of the United States and leaders of both houses of Congress, informing them of our firm position in favor of comprehensive immigration reform and asking them for their support on behalf of such legislation.

(See the resource from the National Council of La Raza, "Hurricane Katrina Disaster Relief Resources: Options for Limited-English-Proficient Individuals, Immigrants, and their Families" It is also available in Spanish. )