SACRAMENTO, Calif., Feb. 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference (NHCLC), issues the following statement in response to recently issued DHS implementation memoranda on immigration enforcement:
“While many questions remain as to the specific implications of the recently released Department of Homeland Security guidance memos, I am nevertheless pleased to see that Secretary Kelly and the DHS will honor President Trump’s promise to protect DREAMers by leaving Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals/expanded DACA and Deferred Action for Parents of Americans intact. I am also encouraged to learn the DHS will maintain the previous administration’s policy of keeping churches and schools off-limits from future immigration enforcement actions.
“I urge this administration to continue pursuing comprehensive immigration reform legislation that includes bi-partisan congressional support. In the meantime, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference will continue to vigilantly monitor how these guidance memos are carried out by immigration enforcement officials, ensuring there is no enforcement overreach, breach of due process or racial discrimination. I ask the administration to enact and fulfill the promise President Trump made not to harm families and exclusively deport those involved in nefarious activities. Please, help us keep families together.”
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. He has been named by CNN and Fox News as “the leader of the Hispanic Evangelical movement” and TIME Magazine included him in its 2013 TIME 100 poll.
NHCLC/CONEL is the world’s largest Hispanic Christian organization. It serves as a representative voice for the more than 100 million Hispanic Evangelicals assembled in over 40,000 U.S. churches and another 500,000 congregations spread throughout the Spanish-speaking diaspora.
