Spring 2022
 
To the U.S. Senators from North Carolina:

As Christians in North Carolina, we’re writing to urge you to take a leadership role in pursuing bipartisan, common-sense immigration reform.

We are deeply concerned about the many long-term immigrants in our state and across the U.S. who lack a path to permanent legal residency, including Dreamers, Temporary Protected Status recipients, and essential workers such as farmworkers. Additionally, without legislation, the majority of Afghans who are here under humanitarian parole will be left in similarly perpetual “temporary” status.

These immigrants are rooted, contributing, tax-paying members of our communities, neighborhoods, and congregations. Many have U.S. citizen children, spouses, or family members, and contribute greatly to North Carolina’s economy, healthcare systems, and food systems through their labor and tax contributions. And in the case of Afghan parolees, many were at risk because of their service to the U.S. military or other parts of the U.S. government.

As Christians, we take seriously God’s repeated calls to love and care for vulnerable foreigners throughout the Bible. We also believe that God established the family unit, which compels us to protect family unity wherever possible, and that he ordains civil authorities to maintain order and seek the common good. We ask you to work for the common good of our state and nation to find an immigration solution that reflects these values. We are not outliers: recent national surveys have shown that large majorities of voters generally favor offering undocumented immigrants the opportunity to apply for legal status and citizenship.

We specifically ask that you support the following policies to:
*Support legislation to ensure that Afghans paroled into the United States have a direct process by which they can apply for permanent legal status;
*Create a path to lawful permanent resident status for Dreamers, young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children;
*Create a path to lawful permanent resident status for TPS recipients whose length of stay in the U.S. is evidently not “temporary”;
*Create an earned path to lawful permanent resident status for undocumented essential workers who have lived in this country for years, which could include payment of a fine in restitution for having arrived unlawfully;
*Reform and expand visa programs to prioritize long-term family reunification and streamline short-term worker visas for foreign nationals who wish to work temporarily in the U.S. while maintaining residency in their home country;
*Invest in improvements to border security and management.

We are praying that you will use your authority righteously to reform our broken immigration system for the good of all, and we hope to assist you in any way we can.

Sincerely,
N.C. Constituents (names and contact information following)