Central Floridians Stand Up for Immigration Reform
Monday, October 28, 2013
By: Amy Green

October 28, 2013 | WMFE - Five-hundred are expected Tuesday in Orlando at a march for immigration reform. That's after two-dozen evangelicals gathered here Monday on the issue in advance of next year's midterm elections, when they believe campaign politics will slow their cause.

[Photo: Central Florida evangelicals are part of a national movement for reform.]

Central Florida evangelicals gathered for music, prayer and discussion of how to mobilize.

Gabriel Salguero is president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, which organized the event.

"Any immigration reform should include securing the borders, providing an earned path to citizenship, provided people pay back taxes, learn citizenship classes, those things. Make sure no employees are exploited, that there's no exploitation of labor, and that keeps family unification as one of the principles of immigration reform." 

The Rev. Joel Hunter is senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed. He says evangelicals also are looking to the future.

"As this legislation advances and as we make progress we're going to need legal counseling for the millions of illegal or undocumented immigrants."

The National Latino Evangelical Coalition is partnering with other influential groups like the National Association of Evangelicals. They say their cause is rooted in biblical principles and that Jesus himself was an immigrant.

Tuesday's march starts at 4 p.m. in downtown Orlando.