CRC Members Take Part in Call-in to Support Dreamers

The Christian Reformed Church headquarters in Grand Rapids, Mich., was bustling on Tuesday, Dec. 18, with CRC members from around the community.

They came to participate in a national call-in day hosted by the Office of Social Justice for support of the Dream Act.

The office was alive with the voices of participants calling and hoping to talk with their representatives in Congress.

The bipartisan Dream Act of 2017 would provide a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, including those protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The call-in event was an effort to encourage CRC members to engage their members of Congress on this issue.

Dreamers and advocates in Washington, D.C., and throughout the country are ramping up advocacy efforts to pressure Congress to include the Dream Act in a spending bill that must be passed soon.

However, after a meeting on Tuesday of President Trump and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle, it looks unlikely that they will pass anything this week for Dreamers.

Many of the advocates in attendance felt as though there is great urgency to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

“We cannot keep delaying this. The Dream Act was first introduced 16 years ago,” said Kelsey Herbert, congregational justice mobilizer for the Office of Social Justice.

“The time for the Dream Act is now. Since the termination of the DACA program on September 5, 12,000 young people have already lost their DACA status, meaning they are now eligible for deportation and unable to work legally.”

Each day that Congress delays passing a long-term legislative solution to DACA, she said, 122 Dreamers lose their status. “It’s unjust to ask them to wait any longer than they already have.”

Rev. Reggie Smith, director of OSJ and the Office of Race Relations, said advocating for and alongside dreamers “is to tangibly respond to the call to welcome the stranger in our midst. I pray that Congress will find the moral courage to pass the Dream Act this week so these 800,000 youth and their families will not be left wondering if this will be their last Christmas in the country they call home.”

Rev. Paul DeVries, pastor of Brookside CRC in Grand Rapids, Mich., and president of the CRC’s Council of Delegates, said there is room for legitimate disagreement among Christians in the arena of politics.

“I myself am often conflicted on political issues. However, when people's very presence in a country is left in limbo, real people — men, women, and children — are left dangling with no certainty.

“They are neither in nor out. Regardless of one's politics, leaving people in that position fails the biblical test of compassion and love. Our government must act and stop treating real people as pawns in a political game over immigration policy. That's why I made the calls today."

Elizabeth Hoving, member of First CRC in Grand Rapids, also wants to see lawmakers act to protect the dreamers.

"Dreamers are our neighbors, classmates, coworkers, and friends. They are an essential part of our communities, and we are blessed by them.”

In her call to her U.S. representative, OSJ staff member Rev. Kate Kooyman said, “I want you to know that I’m a Christian, and I support the many Dreamers in my community who are praying and acting for you to pass a solution before Christmas. I hope the Congressman will do everything he can to ensure that Dreamers are treated with dignity, and that we don’t lose the critical contributions that they make to our communities. Please don’t go home for Christmas without making this happen.”

The Office of Social Justice encourages people to continue making calls to Congress. You can advocate here: Tell Congress to Support the Dream Act of 2017!