Immigration
From its early days as a band of Puritan exiles to its contemporary role as a champion of social justice issues, the evangelical movement has long been concerned with the plight of the outsider. Nearly two million people enter the United States every year, many of them illegally, with an annual waiting list of over 15 million. Growing numbers of international refugees, a sprawling Mexican border, and the proliferation of drugs and terrorism lend urgency to the situation. With the 2010 enactment of Arizona’s anti-illegal immigration Senate Bill 1070, parties on all sides began calling for reform at the national level, leaving evangelicals—particularly the burgeoning Hispanic church—torn between the extension of grace and the execution of justice.