Commentary: As churchgoers we urge Congress to protect, not deport, the Dreamers by passing the act in their name

We write as people of faith who are either attendees at, or members of, Irvine United Congregational Church. Our progressive Christian faith prompts us to strenuously object to the decision by President Trump to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

Terminating DACA means turning our nation’s back on immigrant youth who are valued members of our communities. They were brought to the United States as children and can hardly be seen as responsible for their current undocumented status here.

The consequences of repealing DACA will be severe and profound, putting nearly 800,000 Dreamers at immediate risk of deportation. Indeed, there are many thousands of such people in Orange County.

DACA has allowed young people to pursue their dreams, live without fear of deportation in the country they call home and invest in their future and in the future of our nation.

Ending DACA is morally reprehensible and denies hundreds of thousands of young people the chance to pursue their dreams.

The White House plans to delay the enforcement of the president’s decision for six months. This gives Congress a window to act.

Now is the time for members to act in support of the bi-partisan DREAM Act, which would give current DACA beneficiaries permanent residency on a conditional basis and eventually offer them a pathway to U.S. citizenship.

Our immigrant neighbors deserve dignity, welcome and the opportunity to flourish. Both the Old and New Testaments tell us that God loves the alien, the stranger, the immigrant — as faithful Christians we must do the same.

We are proud to be a congregation of the United Church of Christ, which recently affirmed itself as an “immigrant welcoming denomination,” so we are called to speak out now.

We ask our elected officials in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives to protect Dreamers.

David A. Smith and 48 members of the Irvine United Congregational Church

Irvine

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