*PLEASE INCLUDE AFFILIATION IN YOUR COMMENT. Feel free to include your personal story. Signatures from southern Californian pastors and Christian leaders are especially encouraged. Signing does not necessarily reflect an endorsement from your affiliated institution.*

As evangelical and other Christian leader across the partisan divide, we follow a Lord who told us in Matthew 25 that our actions towards the most vulnerable affect Him directly. Matthew 25:35 reads “I was a stranger and you welcomed me, in prison and you visited me.”

We know that our immigration and criminal justice systems are seriously flawed, often resulting in the unnecessary and unjust separation of families. We are deeply concerned when proposed policies threaten to worsen the plight of vulnerable children and their families. We are thankful when we encounter regulations that are logical and humane.

We support the existing policies covering prosecutorial discretion for deferred action as opposed to the broader enforcement priorities potentially implied by the January Executive Order, and the maintenance of sensitive zones in churches and schools. We agree that enforcement resources should be prioritized for public safety and security. We believe that in Southern California we can all work together to maintain a community where immigrant contributions are welcomed and respected, and the well-being of families supported.

We are praying for you. Blessings.

Matthew25 SoCal