AZ Interfaith Delegation Takes on DC for Immigration Reform

[Ian David]

AZ Interfaith Delegation Takes on DC for Immigration Reform
By Rabbi John Linder

What a blessing to travel last week from Phoenix to Washington, DC, with key religious leaders in Arizona to speak against Arizona's recently passed misguided immigration law, SB1070, and to push for federal comprehensive immigration reform. The delegation emerged from relationships developed within our broad-based community organizations, the Valley Interfaith Project (Phoenix) and Pima County Interfaith (Tucson). The delegation was organized by Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, Desert Southwest Conference of The United Methodist Church, and included: Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas, Tucson Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church; Rev. Monsignor Richard O'Keefe, Episcopal Vicar, Yuma-La Paz Vicariate Immaculate Conception Parish; Rev. Jan Olav Flaaten, Executive Director, Arizona Ecumenical Council; Rev, Dr. Gary D. Kinnaman, Pastor at Large, Evangelical City of Grace Church; Joseph Rubio, Lead Organizer for Arizona, Industrial Areas Foundation; and me.

In the wake of Governor Jan Brewer signing SB 1070 into law, a number of my congregants have asked what they can do to oppose the law. The reality is that, as individual voices, there is little we can do - yet there is a way to act powerfully for change. Our delegation understood that our real power lay in our collective voice, bridging faith, class, race and economic lines. With that in mind, our strategy was two-fold: Take our collective prophetic voice to those in power in DC, and unite a broad-based interfaith community in Arizona, within our respective congregations, to be agents of change regarding immigration.

We began our very full day on Capitol Hill meeting with Representatives Gabrielle Giffords and Raul Grijalva, Senators Charles Schumer, John Kyl and John McCain and their respective staffs. It quickly became clear that lawmakers on each side of the aisle were pointing their finger at the other as an excuse why immigration reform is being stalled.

Our meeting with Senator McCain was the most polarized and highly charged. No sooner had Bishops Carcaño and Kicanas begun to speak than the Senator began explaining his fixed position of "secure the border first" before he'd entertain any other dimension to the immigration issue. When our delegation tactfully reminded him of his bipartisan leadership with Senator Ted Kennedy (z"l) for comprehensive immigration just four years ago, Senator McCain insisted that he has been consistent in his position. Although the meeting ended with tremendous tension, Senator McCain personally reached out to Bishop Carcaño later that afternoon when he called the bishop to ask that we meet again within the month to continue the dialogue We'll certainly hold him to that!



More:
http://blogs.rj.org/rac/2010/05/az_interfaith_delegation_takes.html

Hat-tip to: http://twitter.com/TheRAC/status/14641265161