Rhode Island Churches Weigh In on the Immigration Debate

In an interesting move, the Rhode Island Council of Churches has issued a document urging their followers to be compassionate toward immigrants - illegal or otherwise.

Reverend Donald Anderson stated that the document wasn't to be considered a policy paper, but more of an outline on the principles of immigration as described in the bible to help those with faith approach the issue.

The document outlines many cases of immigration in the bible, most notably the Jewish relocation from Egypt. It proceeds to argue "Since one motivation for immigration is the relative prosperity of the U.S., some may argue that the federal government should protect that prosperity from declines caused by excessive immigration. It is not clear if the U.S. economy is improved or worsened by immigration."

It lists some standard acceptable beliefs such as giving legal status to families attempting to reunite.

The immigration debate goes in cycles, but it seems we're in for a long slow burning as all sides continue to weigh in on the best approach to the issue. What is certain, E-Verify is currently here stay, and the R.I. Council of Churches had nothing bad to say about that particular standard.