FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OCTOBER 25, 2023
Contact Bee Moorhead: bee@texasimpact.org
Texas Impact, the oldest and largest interfaith advocacy group in the state, joined allies and advocates in denouncing the anti-immigration bills under consideration in the House.
“SB 4, HB 4, and HB 6 amount to red herrings that would have little if any impact on the immigration crisis, while generating tragedies for Texas families and communities. If Texas legislators were serious about addressing immigration, they would be working with Texas’ congressional delegation to pass federal legislation, instead of peddling endless variations on ‘show me your papers,’” said Bee Moorhead, Texas Impact executive director.
H.R. 3599 (commonly known as the Dignity Act), by El Paso Democrat Rep. Veronica Escobar and Florida Republican Rep. Maria Salazar, would secure the Texas border while also fixing the U.S. immigration system and creating multiple paths to legal U.S. residence. It is an opportunity to address a multitude of issues plaguing businesses, local communities, law enforcement, and humanitarian responders in Texas and across the nation.
H.R. 3599 is the kind of bill that faith groups would like to see. Last month Texas Lutheran bishops have called for “humane policies that respect the right to control borders under federal management without undermining the integrity of families, or people’s human dignity.” The Evangelical Immigration Table wrote to Congress about the need to protect Dreamers, saying “This issue is central to our Christian faith, as we seek to love our neighbors and be a voice for those whose voices go unheard.”
Moorhead said that like other faith-based groups, Texas Impact is concerned that SB 4 and HB 4 would result in infringement on the religious liberty of Texans.
“SB 4 and similar legislation poses a threat to religious liberty by endangering pastors like Pastor Pereira at the Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries in the Valley, which houses asylum seekers once they have been processed by federal authorities. Should the bill pass, Pereira could face jail time for transporting asylum seekers to worship if pulled over by DPS. Under SB 4, Pastor Pereira could be charged with human smuggling and subject to imprisonment for 10-years minimum,” said Fabioloa Olvera Benitez, Texas Impact’s Courts and Ports border witness program director. Courts & Ports takes people of faith from Texas and other states to the border, where they witness first-hand the broken immigration system and hear stories of asylum-seekers.
FOR MEDIA:
- The Dignity Act has a lot for immigration advocates to like: it would reform the asylum system; create pathways to citizenship; and update the U.S. legal immigration system with an aim towards protecting family unity, reducing backlogs, and improving employment-based opportunities.
- The bill also includes several “get-tough” provisions that should appeal to border-security champions: requires the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to deploy physical barriers, tactical infrastructure, technology, and personnel along the border; and authorizes at least $35 billion in border security funding.
- The Dignity Act would establish the Dignity Program to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain legal status if they meet certain requirements. Significantly, Dignity Program participants would be required to pay thousands of dollars in restitution to be eligible for legal U.S. residence.
ABOUT TEXAS IMPACT:
Texas Impact is a religious grassroots network whose members include individuals, congregations, and governing bodies of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and other faiths. Texas Impact exists to advance state public policies that are consistent with the shared values of Texas faith communities.
The non-profit works on a wide variety of public policy issues within the broadly held social concerns of mainstream religious traditions. Texas Impact uses a process of discernment on public policy issues like the processes used by many faith traditions, including Scripture, the wisdom of the faith traditions, current public policy information and data, and the experiential knowledge of people of faith to develop our positions and policy goals.
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