WASHINGTON – United Methodist bishops are urging the United States Congress to pass a Clean Dream Act that would allow undocumented young people the opportunity to work, receive an education and serve in the U.S. military.
In a statement released Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017, the bishops said they are praying and urging action for the young people affected by the U.S. government’s decision to end Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The young immigrants, also known as Dreamers, had an Oct. 5 deadline to renew their permits one last time.
“We are praying for DACA recipients and their families and all undocumented immigrant communities as they continue to find themselves in the unending crisis of being undocumented in this country,” the statement from the bishops said. “By March 5, 2018, Congress must determine how it will respond to this crisis. We urge Congress to begin by passing a Clean Dream Act.”
Bishop Ough, Bishop Carcaño
The statement – signed by Council of Bishops President Bishop Bruce R. Ough and Bishop Minerva Carcaño, chairperson of the COB Immigration Task Force – noted that a Clean Dream Act should not be used to pit undocumented young people against their parents, families and immigrant communities.
“We continue to believe that government leaders have the wisdom and the resources at their disposal to create and implement a Clean Dream Act that will protect vulnerable young people for whom the U.S. is the only home they know and have,” the bishops said. “A Clean Dream Act could be the beginning of helpful and healing immigration reform in the U.S., and even inspire the reform of migration laws around the world that would help young people everywhere.”
Bishop Holston
Bishop L. Jonathan Holston, resident bishop of the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, urged Americans to remember “who we are and whose we are.”
“We are called to love the strangers in our midst as if they were Jesus,” Bishop Holston said. “This is our calling and our mission – even when it feels risky and frightening to do so.
“During these challenging times, pray for the courage to take seriously our responsibility to advocate on behalf of the least of these, the compassion to love the strangers living among us, and the strength to act when God places such opportunities in our path.”
Click here to read the Council of Bishops’ full statement.
