January 20, 2021
Today, as our country has just inaugurated Joe Biden as our 46th president, we will shortly receive a number of new legislative proposals and executive orders that will reflect the immediate priorities of the Biden Administration. This will include a sweeping plan for immigration reform. Other proposals will provide for pandemic and economic relief, with a further extension of an eviction moratorium. We expect to see many of these announcements this afternoon.
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The first 100 days of a new administration are a precious period of time for passing significant and lasting legislation. It will be important that we study these initiatives and determine the implications for our state. We must also remember that difficult deliberations are ahead of us. The election taught us that we still a polarized country with a divided Congress. The immigration issue is likely to resurface the divisions and fears that hampered previous efforts for reform. Progress here will require the best of politics—constructive argument, listening, and negotiation. We must avoid the past history of demonizing and demagoguery. We in Arizona know the downside of this reality all too well. |
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In that light, we want to share the Arizona Interfaith Network “Faith-Based Principles for Immigration Reform” to remind us of the framework our network put forth in 2004 to fix our broken system. These are important guideposts to reflect upon and to prepare for the deliberations ahead.
Valley Interfaith Project and our sister Arizona Interfaith Network organizations will be working on this and the key issues for our collective recovery.
| The 2004 Arizona Interfaith Network Faith-Based Principles on Immigration Reform: |
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