{"id":3188,"date":"2011-05-12T15:51:22","date_gmt":"2011-05-12T19:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=3188"},"modified":"2011-05-12T15:51:22","modified_gmt":"2011-05-12T19:51:22","slug":"obama-rallies-hispanic-christians-on-immigration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/05\/obama-rallies-hispanic-christians-on-immigration","title":{"rendered":"Obama Rallies Hispanic Christians on Immigration"},"content":{"rendered":"

By ADELLE M. BANKS<\/strong>
\nc. 2011 Religion News Service<\/em><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (RNS) President Obama assured Hispanic Christians on Thursday (May 12) that he hears their pleas for immigration reform, calling it a “moral imperative” that requires action from the pews and the White House.<\/p>\n

“What I can do is sign a law,” he told more than 600 people gathered here for the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast. “What you can do is champion a law. What we can do together is make comprehensive immigration reform the law of the land.”<\/p>\n

Obama, who gave a more detailed speech in El Paso, Texas, on Tuesday about an immigration overhaul, told Hispanic evangelicals that immigration reform must be seen as a moral concern, as well as an economic and security imperative.<\/p>\n

“It’s a moral imperative when kids are being denied the chance to go to college or serve their military because of the actions of their parents,” he said. “It’s a moral imperative when simply enforcing the law may mean inflicting pain on families who are just trying to do the right thing by their children.”<\/p>\n

In recent weeks, Obama has increased calls for immigration reform, meeting with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and unveiling a 29-page blueprint for “Building a 21st Century Immigration System.”<\/p>\n

The Rev. Luis Cortes Jr., founder and president of Philadelphia-based Esperanza, the host of the biennial breakfast, said he remains hopeful that Obama may make reform a reality.<\/p>\n

“He has set out a challenge, and our hope and desire now is that he will be successful and that we will be able to help him be successful,” Cortes said.<\/p>\n

He said his organization, frustrated with the inability of Republicans and Democrats to reach consensus, has launched a campaign through Hispanic churches to encourage members to contact Congress to push for legislation.<\/p>\n

Another Hispanic leader, who thought Obama’s breakfast speech was short on specifics, tied the president’s success on reform to his political fortunes in the 2012 election.<\/p>\n

Citing the millions of Hispanic Christians in the U.S., Pastor Adan Guerrero of McAllen, Texas, said: “We have power.”<\/p>\n

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., also urged breakfast attendees to help get a bipartisan bill passed: “I need you to give the most fervent sermons you have ever given on this issue,” he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By ADELLE M. BANKS c. 2011 Religion News Service WASHINGTON (RNS) President Obama assured Hispanic Christians on Thursday (May 12) that he hears their pleas for immigration reform, calling it a “moral imperative” that requires action from the pews and the White House. “What I can do is sign a law,” he told more than…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":345,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32,4,8,5,9],"tags":[33,2204,720,2224,721,722,2202],"class_list":["post-3188","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christian","category-faith","category-news","category-politics","category-rns","tag-barack-obama","tag-christian","tag-hispanic","tag-immigration","tag-latino","tag-national-hispanic-prayer-breakfast","tag-rns"],"yoast_head":"\nObama Rallies Hispanic Christians on Immigration<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/05\/obama-rallies-hispanic-christians-on-immigration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Obama Rallies Hispanic Christians on Immigration\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By ADELLE M. 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