December 18, 2008
by Melissa Ramirez Cooper

Two pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) are calling on the U.S. Congress to evaluate the nation's immigration system and use what happened in Postville, Iowa, to develop a new approach for immigration raids. On May 12, 2008, federal agents arrested about 390 workers at a meat processing plant there, making the raid the largest at a single location in U.S. history. According to the Rev. Stephen P. Brackett and the Rev. David J. Vasquez, Postville is now an economically, emotionally and socially devastated community since the raid. Both pastors spoke during a Dec. 10 telephone news conference, hosted by Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, to discuss the lingering impact of the raid.

Christians have an obligation to call attention to the moral dimensions of public policy related to immigration, said Brackett, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Postville. "Today's immigration laws, policies and enforcement have shown themselves to be a very broken system. It's a system that harms families, hurts communities and assigns blame to all the wrong places. Immediately following the raid, blame was leveled at undocumented workers" and later on the meat processing plant, he said. "We need to move a step further and look to the body that has the ability to do something about this," and "that's with Congress and the president of the United States. Our lawmakers have a responsibility to debate immigration policy in a respectful and civil matter, and they need to take the politics out of it. They need to look at offering a humane solution that upholds the dignity of all human beings," said Brackett.

"We call on the new administration and elected officials to please listen to Postville for the sake of those who are stranded here (and) for the sake of our nation and our identity," said Vasquez, campus pastor, Luther College, Decorah, Iowa. Luther College, one of 28 colleges and universities of the ELCA, temporarily assigned Vasquez to coordinate humanitarian relief efforts in Postville. Vasquez, who has testified before Congress on the effects of the raid, said, "Postville has become the whipping boy of a misguided immigration system." The raid "merged immigration law with criminal law when criminal charges (were brought) against a swath of people in a way that's never been done before," he said. "Our community is worn out after seven months of fear, chaos and ongoing demands," said Vasquez, adding that efforts to invite senators and other elected officials to Postville will continue despite the lack of resources and the fatigue among people servicing the needs of the Postville community.

ELCA News Service