Resolves of the Executive Council

Resolved, That the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church, meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, June 10-12, 2014, reaffirms the commitment of The Episcopal Church to comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship as a primary solution to the plight of undocumented immigrants who have established roots in the United States as members of our communities and as substantive social, economic, and spiritual contributors to our nation; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council reaffirms the commitment of The Episcopal Church to proportional and humane immigration enforcement policies, and therefore, deplores the unprecedented levels of detention and deportation carried out by the Administration against individuals who pose no threat to society such as individuals who have committed reentry violations, traffic related offenses, minor criminal offenses, and actions that are retroactively considered deportable offenses, and individuals with U.S. citizen or LPR (Lawful Permanent Resident status), spouses, or parents; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council and Episcopalians, who bear daily witness to both the profound joy of reunification for long-separated immigrant families and the devastation of families kept apart, urge the Administration to use expanded prosecutorial discretion and all other administrative means available, so as to stop the suffering inflicted upon these families; and be it further

Resolved, That, when individuals are detained, The Episcopal Church urges the Administration to provide for:

• timely and readily available access to the child welfare system for detained parents, so that they have real and appropriate opportunities to make informed decisions on behalf of their children and families;
• the increased use of alternatives to detention for those individuals who pose no threat to society; and
• the elimination of the detention bed mandate, which requires the federal government to detain 34,000 immigrants on a daily basis and encourages the use of detention over more humane and cost-effective alternatives; and be it further

Resolved, That the Executive Council urges that, when deportations do occur, individuals be repatriated in a safe and humane manner with their belongings, during daylight hours, to secure locations, with appropriate facilities for women and children; and that, when multiple members of a family are deported, they are not needlessly separated or returned to different ports of entry from one another; and be it further

Resolved, That all Episcopalians are urged to advocate and pray for humane comprehensive immigration reform so that the immigrants, their families, and their communities may know peace, safety, and respect for the dignity of all people.