Southern Baptists’ ERLC Backs New Evangelical Group Calling for Acceptance of Young Illegal Immigrants

On Thanksgiving Day, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) of the Southern Baptist Convention tweeted its support for a new evangelical group calling for Christians to embrace young illegal immigrants.

Voices of Christian Dreamers claims to be grassroots, but in reality is the creation of powerful immigration activists.

“As we celebrate Thanksgiving, this group of Christian Dreamers shares why they’re thankful,” said the ERLC tweet, which included a link to a video produced by the group.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, this group of Christian Dreamers shares why they’re thankful. Watch here: https://t.co/RnUqmaNF47 https://t.co/4sqOPIIDv4

— ERLC (@ERLC) November 23, 2017

ERLC President Russell Moore has frequently been criticized by conservatives for his support of progressive immigration policies. The ERLC is the Southern Baptists’ public policy arm and has offices in Washington, D.C., and Nashville.

Voices of Christian Dreamers describes itself on its website as “a grassroots, Dreamers-led movement committed to changing the conversation about undocumented immigrants in the Church and beyond, through highlighting biblical teaching, personal stories and other helpful resources.” Its website explains:

Dreamers—a term derived from the DREAM Act, a bill that has been repeatedly introduced but never yet passed into law—are individuals brought into the U.S. as children and who are without legal status. Since 2012, roughly 800,000 Dreamers have qualified to receive work authorization and protections from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. As of September 2017, however, the DACA program is being terminated, such that hundreds of thousands of Dreamers will lose their jobs and become at risk of deportation in the near future unless Congress takes action.

While Dreamers are diverse in many ways—from various countries of birth, living in all fifty states, ranging in age from teenagers to mid-30s, and of different religions and ethnicities—most Dreamers (like most immigrants overall) identify as Christians. Many of us are active members of local churches, committed to following Jesus and seeking His Kingdom. Our primary identity is found in Christ.

Voices of Christian Dreamers’ partner organizations include the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), the Evangelical Immigration Table, World Relief and G92.org.

The Evangelical Immigration Table, of which Moore is a part, has been called out by other Christians for twisting Scripture to support its positions and for accepting money from the George Soros-funded National Immigration Forum for ads to promote amnesty.

The claim by Voices of Christian Dreamers that it is a grassroots group is immediately suspect based on its influential partner organizations. Its larger ties were further cemented by the Alabama-based Capstone Report, which discovered that the group’s website was registered by the National Immigration Forum.