Igneous Quill

Not long ago I was surprised to read about the work being done on behalf of immigrants by the Reformed Church of Highland Park, New Jersey.  Under the leadership of Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale (his wife Stephanie co-pastors with him) the church has taken a very active role in advocating for undocumented immigrants.  What impresses me most is that the help they offer is both legal and practical.

Typically what I see among churches that speak on behalf of undocumented immigrants in the United States is just that: a lot of words.  Progressive and liberal Christians do a lot of campaigning, blogging, letter writing and protesting.  It could be that the Highland Park parish does all or some of the above as well.  More importantly, they actually work directly with immigrant people on a regular basis.

The Highland Park Reformed Church works with immigration officials, putting in a good word for individual immigrants and negotiating terms for them to turn themselves in for processing.  In many cases they manage to obtain permission for these folks to stay in the country while they attempt to work out their status through the courts.  At points the relationship has been confrontational, but on the whole what we see is genuine cooperation.

Read the New York Times article for yourself.  It's good to see people working in a legal and responsible manner for the good of undocumented immigrants and within the boundaries of the system, such as it is.