Evangelical Leaders Call for Immigration Reform

Washington, D.C., - More than 150 influential Evangelical Christians from across the country publicly endorsed a statement of principles on immigration reform at a press conference on Capitol Hill. 

Evangelical Leaders Meet in Washington to Mobilize Immigration Reform

“Its time to enact what we believe is a moral and biblical comparison to fix this broken system,” Sojourners Christian Ministry President Jim Wallis said.

The group, called The Evangelical Immigration Table, is made up of Evangelical leaders from a variety of denominations and calls for a bipartisan solution on immigration.

“The evangelical foundation table is diverse in its formation but it is unified in its biblically mandated vision to help create a better life for immigrants in America based on the principles that are stated in this immigration reform platform: 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 for taxpayers, and establishes a path for legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent residents,” Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission President Richard Land said.

According to Land, the Evangelical Christian vote is important to American elections. 

“82.3 million Americans self-identify themselves as ‘Evangelicals’ in the United States. That means, that we make up 26.3 percent of the population of our country and that’s the largest religious affiliation in the country, larger than both Catholics and main-line Protestants,” Land said, “According to exit poling, the largest single constituency that actually took the time to go out and vote in the 2010 elections, self-identified as Evangelicals, 29 percent of the people who voted.”

Wallis said in order to change immigration policy, American Evangelicals must band together.

“Big things don’t change in Washington first, they change in the nation’s capitol last,” Wallis said, “Things change when hearts and minds across the country change, things change when social movements begin, when people’s understandings change, when families rethink their values, when congregations examine their faith, and when nations are moved by moral contradictions.”

The Evangelical Immigration Table is urging “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.”

“Today we’re making a prophetic announcement. Washington DC will change on this issue. Washington DC will enact comprehensive immigration reform because the people of God have come together to begin that change in their own lives and their own churches,” Wallis said.

Support for the Evangelical Immigration Table includes leaders from Evangelical groups such as World Relief, National Association of Evangelicals, Focus on the Family, and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

For more information visit: www.evangelicalimmigrationtable.com

2012 Election Top Issues and the Importance of Swing States

WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the election less than five months away, it is becoming easier to predict for which candidate certain states will cast their electoral votes. However, in undecided states, such as Ohio, Wisconsin, and even Missouri, anything could happen. 

Former policy advisor to President Clinton and political theorist William Galston said in a recent live web chat that winning over swing states is crucial both for Romney and President Obama.

“There are three main baskets of states--one in the Midwest, another in the Southwest, the third in the "Rim South,” Galston said, “The first is the largest (Wisconsin, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania). In the SW, Colorado and Nevada are critical. The Obama campaign thinks it has a chance in Arizona; I don't. In the Rim South, Virginia looks pretty promising for Obama; North Carolina, much less so. Florida's 29 electoral votes will be hotly contested, as usual, and so will New Hampshire.”

Map From: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/president/2012_elections_electoral_college_map.html

Galston said the campaigns will likely make some changes in the coming months, in efforts to sway independent voters and swing states.

“The Romney campaign has done a pretty good job of maintaining focus on the economy,” Galston said, “By contrast, the Obama campaign has been all over the map. They're spending their time appealing to specific groups (e.g., women, students) on narrow issues rather than making a broad appeal to the country. I expect them to shift course pretty soon.”

The economy is one of the most important issues in this election. Many voters are convinced that continuing Obama’s policies for four more years could be detrimental to the already suffering economy. President Obama will have to convince the American people that his policies still have the potential to improve the economy.

“(Obama) can't evade the issue, and at this point he can't affect the economy very much between now and November. So, he has to make the case that he's done the best that anyone could have done in very difficult circumstances,” Galston said.

Another hot issue in this election cycle is healthcare. Opponents of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), or “ObamaCare,” argue that the individual mandate, which requires individuals to purchase health insurance, is unconstitutional. According to a recent poll by CBS News/New York Times, only 24 percent of Americans want the entire law upheld and most people want the Supreme Court to overturn the individual mandate.

Galston said the Supreme Court’s decisions about the ACA will help gauge the impact of the healthcare issue in the 2012 election. 

“We'll know before the end of this month,” Galston said, referring to when the Supreme Court will make its decision about the ACA’s constitutionality.

Aside from the economy and healthcare, other top issues in this election include immigration policy, national defense, and moral issues such as same-sex marriage and abortion. The way voters decide on these issues, especially in swing states, will ultimately decide the next presidency and the future of the United States.