Faith leaders urge Obama to grant pardons to immigrants

Friday, Dec. 09, 2016

WASHINGTON (CNS) — Faith leaders and immigrant advocates urged President Barack Obama to pardon immigrants in the country without legal documentation and people with nonviolent, federal drug offenses serving prison sentences.

“This is about protecting families,” said Richard Morales, immigration policy director for PICO, which stands for People Improving Communities Through Organizing.

“There is tremendous fear in our communities. This is a moral rather than legal issue. The president does have the constitutional power to grant these pardons and he needs to act,” he added.

The gathering was organized by PICO, a national network based in Oakland, Calif., that was founded in 1972 by a Jesuit priest. 

The group is circulating a petition to deliver to the White House Dec. 15 urging the Obama administration to grant these pardons. It is also urging local elected officials, governors, mayors and churches across the country to take steps to designate themselves sanctuaries, protecting immigrants from deportation, in response to President-elect Donald Trump promises to deport 2 million to 3 million immigrants without documentation.

“We need to think about our kids, our neighbors and their dreams,” said Miguel Oaxaca, a faith leader with Together Colorado, an immigrant advocacy group. “I am an immigrant, a father, a business owner, but most importantly, I am your neighbor. Today, I’m asking President Obama as a father to keep families together.”

“When families are broken and shattered, our country is broken and shattered,” said Bishop Dwayne Royster, founding pastor of Living Water United Church of Christ in Philadelphia and PICO’s political director.