Obama’s immigration speech ‘necessary’ step, SBC’s Land says
- Jul 2, 2010 - 6 -
President Obama called for the federal government “to fix a broken immigration system” in a speech that Southern Baptist ethicist Richard Land commended as a necessary first step to reform.
Acknowledging Washington’s failure to deal with an issue that has led to an estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, Obama called for continued work to secure the borders, increased enforcement of the law against employers who hire undocumented workers, and a series of requirements that people in this country illegally must meet to gain legal status.
The president rejected both “blanket amnesty” for and deportation of illegal immigrants. He also said the “legal immigration system is as broken as the borders” and needs reform.
Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), applauded Obama for a “bold and important speech.”
“There are some things that require presidential leadership, and the immigration issue is one of them,” said Land, who attended the July 1 speech at American University in Washington, D.C. “This speech by the president, in and of itself, will not solve the immigration crisis, but this speech was a necessary prerequisite to bringing about a fair and just solution to the immigration crisis that is rending the social fabric of our nation.
“In any marriage, you have to first have an initial proposal,” he said. “The president proposed this morning. It’s up to the Congress to now accept that proposal or to construct its own proposal and to bring forth a bill that will consummate the marriage. We need to call upon our congressmen and senators to behave like statesmen. Politicians think about the next election; statesmen think about the next generation.”
Though chances for passage of a bill this year appear unlikely, Obama called for Republicans to join the Democrats and him in supporting reform. He charged that many of the 11 GOP senators who backed reform previously had changed their positions “under the pressures of partisanship and election-year politics.”
“Reform that brings accountability to our immigration system cannot pass without Republican votes,” Obama said. “That is the political and mathematical reality.”
There are 56 Democrats, two independents who caucus with the Democrats and 41 Republicans in the Senate following the June 28 death of Sen. Robert Byrd, D.-W.Va.
After the president’s speech, Sen. John Cornyn, R.-Texas, expressed disappointment, asserting Obama is still not leading on the issue.
“President Obama said he and Congressional Democrats are ready to move forward, but the only legislation they’ve moved forward are partisan bills to increase spending, take over our health care system, and bail out Wall Street,” Cornyn said in a written statement. “They made a strategic decision to put immigration on the back burner, and they now claim they can’t even propose immigration legislation without a Republican. It’s time for the President and Congressional Democrats to stop the charade.
“I have told President Obama that I am committed to credible, bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform, and that I am willing to work with anyone who shares that commitment.”
In his speech, Obama cited some of the same requirements the ERLC’s Land has listed as necessary for illegal immigrants to gain citizenship or legal work status. The president said illegal immigrants must acknowledge they broke the law, register, pay a fine and taxes, and learn English.
Land, who supports comprehensive immigration reform, also has said illegal immigrants must undergo a criminal background check, pledge allegiance to the United States government and its values, serve a years-long probationary period and wait behind legal immigrants.
Land has called for the borders to be secured before other aspects of immigration reform go into effect. Obama indicated, however, he does not have such a requirement.
“[T]here are those who argue that we should not move forward with any other elements of reform until we have fully sealed our borders,” Obama said. “But our borders are just too vast for us to be able to solve the problem only with fences and border patrols. It won’t work.”
Land, who also has recommended a “biometric, tamper-proof Social Security card” for all workers, said, “The problem is always in the details, and I believe that any solution that will meet the fundamental requirement of being accepted by the American people will include securing the border first with measurable metrics that have been certified as met by the federal government in terms of stemming the flow of illegal immigration prior to the implementation of any program that would allow currently undocumented workers to begin a probationary pathway toward legal status, which would include going to the back of the line behind those who have been and are trying to come here legally.”
The president criticized the controversial new law enacted in Arizona as “ill conceived,” though he said it was “understandable,” given the federal government’s failure to act. He said the law had caused division and had placed “huge pressures on local law enforcement to enforce rules that ultimately are unenforceable.”
The Arizona law enacted in April requires police to check with the federal government on a person’s status if they suspect during a stop, detention or arrest he might be in the country illegally. Critics have charged the law legalizes racial profiling and have called for a variety of boycotts of the state, but Americans have expressed their support for the law in opinion surveys.
Land repeated his opinion that the Arizona law “is a cry for help from a state that is in crisis because the federal government has not done its job for many years now.”
“President Obama has laid out the groundwork for the beginning of an urgent conversation that must be taken up immediately to bring about a solution to this crisis so that we can begin to mend the social fabric, rather than continue to rend it,” Land said.
In 2006, the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a resolution on immigration that urged increased border security, enforcement of the laws, and judicious and realistic dealings with illegal immigrants, while encouraging Christian outreach to immigrants regardless of their legal status.
Bill Hybels, senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago and a leader in the seeker-sensitive church movement, introduced Obama before his speech.
Other evangelical leaders attending who support comprehensive reform were Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, and Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Council.
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1 On Jul 8th, 2010, at 9:11pm, Raymond E. Belk wrote:
I would like to take opposition to Richard Land’s stand on illegal immigration reform. The very first thing that needs to be done is to fully secure the borders. I know the president said that is impossible, but that is his job and he must do it. What would Mr. Land’s position be if his neighbor broke into his home and took things illegally? Would he give them the rest of his posessions? Would he want his things back? This is exactly what illegal people in this country have done. I fully support anyone who has come into this country legally and is pursuing their legal path to citizenship. These illegals need to go back to their native countries and apply for immigration the way our laws says they can do. At that point they would have my support.
2 On Jul 10th, 2010, at 4:15pm, Greg wrote:
I oppose Obama on open borders @ immigration due to the problems of
human smuggling, 13 trillion national debt, infrastructure overwhelmed (schools, hospitals)
70 percent of births in Dallas Parkland Hosp. are to illegal aliens. Tired of paying for that in taxes.
28 percent unemployment in Imperial County, CA and also high in Yuma County, AZ.
Open borders are unfair to African Americans as it dilutes black voting /economic strength relative to Hispanics.
Diseases brought in by illegal aliens. We have already seen SARS,Bird Flu and Swine Flu come into the US in recent years.
Cross border violence such as we have seen recently in both Hudspeth County, Texas and at Lake Falcon in Zapata County, Texas this past week.
Car theft is epidemic along the border especially Ariz.
Terrorist groups such as Hezbollash have already crossed into Texas recently through our porous border.
3 On Jul 11th, 2010, at 5:39pm, Sandra Pinkston wrote:
Dr. Land,
We have immigration laws in place already, and in no way should we change those or celebrate those people who have broken our laws by giving them amnesty overriding our relatives who took the correct method to citizenship. The easiest way to eliminate this problem is to stop employers from hiring and closing, yes, closing the borders. The majority of those here illegally will then return to their homeland and return American jobs to Americans. Visa holders should be checked also and those holding expired visas should be deported. After all, we are a land of laws, not a land in which we choose which laws we will uphold or will not.
4 On Jul 13th, 2010, at 6:32pm, 4 Common Sense wrote:
What has happened to our Biblical Christianity? Why are we watering down God’s Word? “It’s NEVER right to do wrong in order to do right”. We have become traitors to the word of God. We are now aiding and abetting law breakers, under the protection of witnessing or sharing God’s Word. When illegals come here and use our schools, hospitals, social services programs and take jobs away from legal citizens. I guess it’s all right to just turn the other cheek. You have made a mockery of the Word of God. Social Justice is now the new Gospel. Equal Justice Under the Law is a thing of the past. You can preach your “Other Gospel” all you want. God will be your judge.
A real Christian for Christ.
5 On Jul 20th, 2010, at 4:24am, Kevin Sparks wrote:
Dr Land,
This article shows that you are in line with main line conservatives and want to seal the borders first and make illegals wait in line behind those who do it right. You are being thrown in with all the Evangelicals who support President Obama’s plan for immigration reform. Please don’t let them use your name or position to validate their policies. I came to the SBC website because of other sites (New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/19/us/politics/19evangelicals.html) showing you as a supporter of immigration reform willing to give up your convictions to align with the emerging Hispanic influence. Again please do what you can to make sure they don’t distort your views.
6 On Jul 20th, 2010, at 2:38pm, Bob Brinkley wrote:
If I assist a lawbreaker, I become a lawbreaker. The immigrants who entered illegally have broken many laws. There are more American deaths by illegals that in Pakistan. Our prisons are full of illegals. Dr. Land I beg you to reconsider. Perhaps the Southern Baptists will follow you, I cannot. I perceive that you have endorsed “social justice”. You and I must break fellowship with this choice. I pray God will help you see the injustice of your choice.
without malice,
Bob Brinkley