WASHINGTON – After Trump administration officials announced a proposal essentially denying green cards or visa adjustment to immigrants who lawfully use food or housing assistance, and whose broad scope could fundamentally weaken our nation’s tradition of welcome, faith leaders expressed their deep grief and outrage:
“These changes to the public charge system are unprecedented and incredibly devastating. With one in four children in a mixed-status family these changes will certainly to lead to kids not getting critical nutrition services. At its essence, this will have the impact of placing millions of families at risk of poverty and further marginalizing immigrant citizens. We urge the Administration to consider the moral implications of these changes; denying families access to even the most basic human needs assistance is unconscionable. Make the choice to develop compassionate immigration policies which will build us all up as a country,” said Sandy Sorensen, Director of the United Church of Christ Washington Office.
“Nobody should have to choose between citizenship and providing for their children. Nobody in need of help of food, housing, child care, education should be afraid of accessing those benefits in the United States. To deny immigrants these benefits lacks compassion and common sense. It goes against every faithful teaching to ensure those who are strangers are welcomed, those who are homeless are sheltered, and those who are hungry are fed. We reject this sweeping definition of public charge; all members of our community – regardless of their immigration status – should have access to the support they need to survive,” said Diane Randall, Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers).
“Hard-working immigrant families shouldn’t have to choose between having enough to eat and their citizenship prospects. Investing in nutrition, health care, and other essential needs keeps children learning, parents working, and families strong, and allows all of us to contribute fully to our communities. This an attack against families and children. This type of policy goes against the tenets of our faith traditions to welcome and love our neighbors, and also to care for our children,” said Rev. John L McCullough, President and CEO of Church World Service.
“The recent ‘public charge’ proposed rule change is the latest vicious attack on immigrant families perpetrated by the Trump Administration. This order will further chill access to critical health care, food security, and anti-poverty programs, and ultimately force families to choose between staying together and meeting basic needs. As Jews, we are acutely aware of the consequences of government turning its back on immigrants. We urge the administration to withdraw this proposal and live up to our nation’s promise as a haven for those seeking better lives.” said Nancy K. Kaufman, CEO of the National Council of Jewish Women.
“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s proposed changes to the public charge regulation are yet another attempt by President Trump to restrict immigration and punish immigrant families. The new regulation would force parents to make impossible choices between the well-being of their families and the prospect of future citizenship.
The rule would dramatically increase the barriers to lawful status for low-income immigrants and their families. It could dissuade parents from obtaining benefits for which their children qualify, out of fear that they may not be able to regularize their immigration status in the future. Lack of access to public benefits programs will increase poverty, hunger, homelessness, and disease, and decrease children’s school attendance and well-being.
This attempt to target the most vulnerable within the immigrant community violates the tenets of our faith and threatens the values of our nation. We are called by our faith to welcome the stranger and care for the most vulnerable. And we are challenged by our national values to promote the welfare of our children and tend the common good. If we want our communities to thrive, all families in those communities have to have access to the care and services they need and to which they are entitled. The Trump administration’s proposed changes to the public charge regulation threaten us all.” said Carol Zinn, SSJ, Executive Director, Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
“The so-called ‘public charge’ regulation is another blatant attempt to rob immigrants of color of their dignity and right to live in safety. By forcing people to risk losing status in exchange for feeding and sheltering their families, this regulation makes it a punishable offense for immigrants to use public benefits that are enjoyed by most other members of our society. Accessing the economic and social prerequisites of a dignified life should never be grounds for stigmatizing or excluding people, but a right common to all.” said Rev. Mary Katherine Morn, President and CEO of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.
“The Administration’s proposal to subject legal immigrants to possible deportation if they make legal use of public benefits is ludicrous. This targets not just the legal resident but also the legal resident’s family, including U.S. citizens. This clearly is a push against all immigration and against all immigrants.
The National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd calls on Congress to rebuff President Trump’s dystopian plan, pass legislation blocking it and to instead demonstrate grown-up oversight of this Administration and its xenophobic policies,”said Lawrence E. Couch, Director of the National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd.
“The Administration’s proposed ‘public charge rule’ represents one more unjust and cruel attack on immigrant families, including those who have immigrated lawfully. It will cause tremendous suffering for hard-working, low-income families, many of whom are families of color, and discourage them from seeking public benefits for which their children qualify. The Administration’s unjust and shameful policies will increase poverty and mean that even more children go hungry. Congress needs to step up and rein in agencies, such as the Department of Homeland Security, when their regulations make feeding kids grounds for punishment. This is out of control. The public charge rule runs counter to everything that our faith teaches us, and what we believed was our nation’s professed values.”said Sister Patricia McDermott, President, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas.
“The administration’s proposed changes to the public charge system are a thinly veiled anti-immigrant ruse. It is inhumane and immoral to make parents choose between citizenship and providing needed benefits for their children. The proposed ruling would impede access to needed healthcare, food security and anti-poverty programs. Franciscan Action Network urges the administration to withdraw this un-American proposal.” said Patrick Carolan, Executive Director, Franciscan Action Network.
“The administration’s punitive new public charge rule, clearly devised to especially target legal immigrants, is likewise an assault against our faith values of compassion, fairness, and belief in the inherent goodness of every human as created in the image of God. Its intent to threaten low wage and tax-paying workers by denying them opportunities for even short term education, housing, health, or nutrition support–including for their U.S. born children–is cruel and threatens to measurably increase the number of U.S. children living in poverty. As faith communities who believe ‘the fruit of the Spirit is love…peace…and kindness’ (Galatians 5:22), we abhor such policies that foster fear and confusion that result in keeping families from accessing public programs for which they legally qualify.” Rev. Terri Hord Owens, General Minister & President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and Rev. Dr. Sharon Stanley-Rea, Director, Refugee & Immigration Ministries, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) wrote in a joint statement.
“The Lord expects us to show kindness and mercy to one another; to not oppress the widow, the orphan, the foreigner, or the poor. These changes drastically expand the number of people, legal immigrants, at risk of becoming inadmissible for asking for mercy, mercy for which they are eligible under the law. These rule changes overly burden new immigrants, families and children, and low-wage workers. They are not kind. They are not merciful. They are oppressive.” said Rev. Jimmie R. Hawkins, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Director of the Office of Public Witness.
“Christian scripture repeatedly directs us to demonstrate care for both the poor and the immigrant. This potential change in the scope of ‘public charge’ will tragically target both these groups of people, and will greatly reduce the legal pathways that immigrants come to our country. Scripture’s clear message about the benefits and blessings that immigrants bring suggest that pathways to legal status must be fair, just, and equitable, not be eliminated–and especially not limit legal immigration through a targeting of vulnerable families who are bringing life, vitality, moral courage, and giftedness to our communities and our churches. I can imagine the grief of facing such an impossible choice: should I try to keep my family together and safe from the threat of deportation by failing to seek services my child greatly needs, or should I try to meet my child’s most basic needs for health care and food security without any support, thereby risking deportation even when possessing appropriate documentation? Any policy which forces such a choice is one that should be changed, not blithely chosen. I urge the administration to immediately rescind this heartbreaking, unjust policy.” said Dr. Steven Timmermans, Executive Director, Christian Reformed Church in North America.
“Families who work hard and play by the rules to immigrate to the United States should not have the rules changed in the middle of the process. It is precisely these families, who have waited years for visas or lawful permanent residence, which will now be discriminated against by the Trump administration. This is absolutely wrong.” said Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, Executive Director, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice.
“The news that President Trump is now attempting to prevent legal immigrants from ever having the chance to become citizens is an assault on the core ideals of our nation. His shameless assault on families and children who are legal residents must be condemned and contested as immoral and cold-hearted by all Americans; I especially call on Christ-followers to lift our voices, condemning this direction for the sake of immigrant families, and for the sake of our nation.” said Dr. Noel Castellanos, President Christian Community Development Association.
“Attacking immigrants is not only vicious and cruel, it has become the life raft in Trump’s sinking White House. Whenever he has suffered a political setback since becoming president, he has resorted the scapegoating immigrants, including those who have become citizens. Now he is ratcheting up his attacks because of an ongoing trial against his former campaign chairman. But immigrants should not be punished for wanting to become citizens and to participate in our democracy after years of contributing to our economy and communities. Trump also forgets that there are millions of American voters who oppose these horrible policies and will show up at the polls in November.” said Richard Morales, Policy and Program Director, LA RED Faith In Action.
“This latest in a long string of appallingly cruel attacks on immigrants is breathtaking in its lack of understanding of the lives and contributions of immigrants. This sweeping proposal will force immigrants to make impossible choices. All of us must step up and insist that our government halt this attempt to scapegoat immigrants who need crucial services for their families.” said Jeanne Atkinson, executive director, the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC).
“The public charge rule has added another discriminatory element to an already racist and xenophobic immigration agenda. Forcing low-income earning immigrant families to choose between their health and well-being and a lawful immigration status is immoral. Public programs and services that reflect the broad needs of our society for public health and community well-being, as well as our societal sense of fairness and compassion should never be dependent on a person’s race, ethnicity, or place of birth. AFSC believes all members of our communities should have access to needed services. Our values should not be contingent on immigration status. Rather than limit access to basic human rights, we should be expanding the safety net for our immigrant community members and our society.” said Kathryn Johnson, Policy Advocacy Coordinator, American Friends Service Committee.
“The proposed changes to the public charge rule contradicts the values that the United States of America espouses. From the self-evident truths in the Declaration of Independence to the tired, poor, ‘huddled masses yearning to breathe free…’ to whom we beckon on the Statue of Liberty, this country claims to affirm all of humanity’s inherent dignity. However, its public policies do not reflect what the country espouses. This recent attempt to penalize immigrants who need government assistance programs as potential financial burdens to society is reprehensible. Thankfully, Scripture teaches people of faith to see God’s Image in every person, including the poor, the widow, the orphan, the immigrant. Scripture also teaches us to care for strangers in our midst, even as we “…defend the rights of the poor and needy.”(Proverbs 31:9b). Therefore, we oppose these changes to the public charge because they are unjust and immoral. “ said Rev. Ebony J. Grisom Director, Ecumenical Poverty Initiative.
“The administration’s new public charge rule blatantly rejects the standard for how we are to treat our neighbors found in scripture. “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me” (Matthew 25:35-36). This new policy does not align with the values that are central to the Christian faith, and it is yet another relentless and heartless attack on immigrant families. This policy will significantly limit access to health care, food security, and safety net programs. It will harm children, the sick and disabled, and ultimately force immigrants to choose between pursuing a pathway to citizenship or providing basic needs for their families. As people of faith, we are called to love and care for our neighbors, which is why we urge the administration to reverse this hateful and racist rule and, instead, promote laws that illustrate the inherent dignity of all people.” said Rev. Terrance M. McKinley, Director of Campaigns and Mobilizing at Sojourners.
“This administration’s strategic and persistent assault on low-income communities and people of color is reflective of a history the United States has tried to either deny or forget. However, we witness the daily barrage of insults and threats against groups of people as they seek full participation in this country. The latest assault seen in the proposed changes to the public charge criteria in immigration law is yet another example. We cannot let our people be denied access to public benefits that help individuals, families, and communities. Our government exists to serve its people. ‘What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it,’ (John 1:3b–5, NRSV). Let us fully understand that we must stand up against these attacks to seek and strive for justice and fairness. Let us be bearers of God’s light and mercy.” said The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Faith leaders urged all people of faith, whose diverse faith traditions call for protection of immigrants as well as the poor and vulnerable people, to speak out against this rule change proposal during the sixty day comment period. ]]>
