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Interfaith group calls for immigration reform

WASHINGTON (AP) - More than 40 national religious groups and 100 clergy and local faith organizations are calling on President Bush and Congress to reform U.S. immigration laws.

The interfaith group said elected officials should normalize the status of the many immigrants who already work in the United States so they can become permanent legal residents and reunite their family members in this country. Some undocumented immigrants must wait years for authorization to bring their relatives to the United States, the faith group said.

The religious leaders are also seeking changes in border protection policies "consistent with humanitarian values" while allowing authorities to block entry for terrorists and criminals, according to their joint statement last week.

"While we support the right of the government to enforce the law and protect the national security interests of the United States, we recognize that our existing complex and unworkable immigration system has made it nearly impossible for many immigrants," to gain lawful entry, they said.

Among the signers are the Episcopal Church, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Union for Reform Judaism and the Islamic Circle of North America.

The Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act, before the House and Senate, makes some of the changes the religious leaders are requesting. However, some members of Congress are opposing the measure and pushing for more restrictions on immigration instead.

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Signatures



National Organizations:
Anti-Defamation League
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
American Jewish Committee
American Jewish Congress
American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA)
B’nai B’rith International
Catholic Health Association
Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC)
Catholic Relief Services
Church World Service/Immigration and Refugee Program
Columban Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Office
Conference of Major Superiors of Men
Episcopal Church USA
Gamaliel National Clergy Caucus Leadership Council
Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS)
International Catholic Migration Commission
Institute on Religion and Public Policy
Irish Apostolate, USA
Islamic Circle of North America
Jesuit Conference
Jesuit Refugee Service/USA
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
Jubilee Campaign USA
Justice for Our Neighbors Immigration Clinic Network
La Ermita - The Hermitage
Leadership Conference of Women Religious
Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office
Mexican American Cultural Center
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
National Catholic Association of Diocesan Directors for Hispanic Ministry
National Council of Jewish Women
National Ministries, American Baptist Churches USA
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Union for Reform Judaism
United Jewish Communities
United Methodist Committee on Relief
United States Province of the Priests of the Sacred Heart
Women In Islam, Inc.
Women’s League for Conservative Judaism
World Relief

Local Organizations:
Baltimore Jewish Council
Building Bridges: Hispanic Outreach Project Community of St. Anthony Church in Canton, Ohio
Cabrini Immigrant Services, Dobbs Ferry, New York
Cabrini Immigrant Services, New York, New York
California Province of the Society of Jesus
Capuchin Province of St. Joseph, Detroit, Michigan
Catholic Charities Diocese of Des Moines
Catholic Charities Diocese of San Diego
Catholic Charities Hawaii
Catholic Charities Health and Human Services, Diocese of Cleveland
Catholic Charities Housing Opportunities (CCHO), Youngstown, Ohio
Catholic Charities in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, New Mexico
Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey
Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington, Virginia
Catholic Charities of Tennessee, Inc.
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, Texas
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington
Catholic Migration Office of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York
Catholic Social Services in Anchorage, Alaska
Clerics of St. Viator, Chicago Province
Commonwealth Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia
Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of San Antonio
Congregation of Holy Cross, Southern Province
Congregation of Our Lady of Victory Missionary Sisters, Huntington, Indiana
Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus
En Camino, Migrant and Immigrant Services, Diocese of Toledo, Ohio
Family Unity & Citizenship Program of the Diocese of Las Cruces
HIAS and Council Migration Services of Philadelphia
Hogar Hispano - Catholic Charities, Falls Church, Virginia
Houston Dominican Sisters
Human Concerns Commission of the Diocese of San Jose
Interfaith Refugee and Immigration Ministries of Illinois
Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action, Boston
Jewish Federation of Greater Middlesex County, New Jersey
Jewish Community Action, St. Paul, Minnesota
Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Federation of Southern Arizona
Lutheran Children and Family Service of Eastern Pennsylvania
Lutheran Family Services in the Carolinas
Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
Lutheran Social Services of Michigan
Lutheran Social Services of New England
Lutheran Social Services of Northern New England
Lutheran Social Services of South Dakota
Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area
Marianist Province of the United States, St. Louis, Missouri
Metropolitan Council on Jewish Poverty, New York
Migration and Refugee Services Diocese of Trenton, New Jersey
Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Conception, Province of the Immaculate Conception, Paterson, New Jersey
Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Stella Maris Province, New York, New York
Missionhurst-CICM, Arlington, Virginia
National Catholic Rural Life Conference, Des Moines, Iowa
Northern Indiana Ecumenical Multicultural Ministry (NIEMM), Morocco, Indiana
Organización for Latino Awareness of the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago
Priests of the Sacred Heart (SCJ), Hales Corners, Wisconsin
Provincial Council of the Province of St. John the Baptist of the Order of Friars Minor, Cincinnati, Ohio
River's Edge Community Church, Oella, Maryland
Saints Peter and Paul Church, Savannah, Georgia
Society of Jesus (Jesuits), New York Province
Society of the Divine Word, Chicago Province
St James Faithful Citizenship, Elizabethtown, Kentucky
St James Parish Council, Elizabethtown, Kentucky
St James Parish Social Ministries, Elizabethtown, Kentucky
St. Benedict's Abbey, Benet Lake, Wisconsin
UJA-Federation of New York
Vincentian Center for Church and Society at St. John's University, New York
Washington Buddhist Peace Fellowship (WBPF)
Western Dominican Province, Oakland, California
Wider Church Ministries - United Church of Christ, Cleveland, Ohio
Wisconsin Province of the Society of Jesus

Individual Faith Leaders:
Pamela Beech, Archdiocese of Detroit, Lay Leadership and Formation
Most Reverend Gerald R. Barnes, Bishop of San Bernardino
Rev. Dr. Stephen P. Bouman, Bishop, Metropolitan New York Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Rev. Dr. Clive Calver, Walnut Hill Community Church, Bethel, CT
P. Adam Carroll, 9/11 Relief Director Islamic Circle of North America USA (ICNA Relief)
Patrick Gilger, SJ, Loyola University Chicago
Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn
John E. Dister, SJ, Detroit Province Jesuits, Loyola of the Lakes Retreat House
Bob Dunden, SJ, St Benedict the Moor Parish, Omaha, NE
John C. Fickes, Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus
Francis Cardinal George, Archbishop of Chicago
Joseph K. Grieboski, President, Institute on Religion and Public Policy
Michael Higgins, C.P., Provincial Superior of Holy Cross Province of the Passionists, Chicago, Illinois
Daniel Idzikowski, Catholic Charities of the Diocese of La Crosse, Inc., La Crosse, Wisconsin
Fr. Michael J. Kavanaugh, Port Wentworth, Georgia
Dr Khurshid Khan, President of the Islamic Circle of North America
Most Reverend Gerald Kicanas, Bishop of Tucson
Clifton Kirkpatrick, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church-USA
Abbot Jerome Kodell, OSB, Subiaco, Arkansas
Reverand John S. Korcsmar, CSC, Austin, Texas
Sister Larraine Lauter OSU, Owensboro, Kentucky
Reverend Msgr. Ronald T. Marino, Brooklyn, New York
Peter Vander Meulen, Office of Social Justice and Hunger Action, Christian Reformed Church
Allan Parker, Pastor, Quitman Church of the Nazarene, Quitman, GA
Sylvia Romero, Hispanic Ministry at Grace United Methodist Church, Olathe, Kansas
Rev. Robert J. Scullin, Provincial, Detroit Province of the Society of Jesus
Most Reverend Carlos Sevilla, S.J., Bishop of Yakima, Washington
Secretary General, Rashid Siddiqui, Islamic Circle of North America
Michael Simone, SJ, Weston Jesuit School of Theology
Fr. Tom Smith, Hispanic Ministry of New Albany, Indiana
Most Reverend Jaime Soto, Auxiliary Bishop of Orange, California
Madonna Della Strada, Jesuit Residence
Most Reverend Thomas G. Wenski, Bishop of Orlando
Professor Elie Wiesel, Boston University


This statement is open for sign-on by faith-based organizations, denominations, individual places of worship, and individual faith leaders. To endorse, please contact Stephanie Green via email: or phone: 202-828-5115.

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