Community Members and Faith Leaders
Prayed for Citizenship at Sen. Klobuchar’s office

MINNEAPOLIS, MN – On Sunday, May 19, 60 ISAIAH faith leaders and clergy joined DREAM Act students and Chaska area community members at Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s office in Minneapolis to pray, offer testimony and urge her to publically support fair and inclusive immigration policies that will establish a direct roadmap to citizenship for 11 million aspiring Americans.

“Prayer is one of the most powerful tools we have as people of faith to lift up just policies and the people who can bring them about,” said Rev. Paul Slack, pastor at New Creation Church and President of ISAIAH. “These prayer vigils are an opportunity to witness to the pain and suffering that our broken immigration system has caused in our community and to lift up our lawmakers in prayer. We are praying that they will have the courage to do the right thing and support those who live, work and worship with them.”

Faith leaders delivered more than 200 letters from local congregations to Sen. Klobuchar’s office staff. During the vigil, community members spoke of the need to be able to apply for protected status and family reunification, and the need to allow those who have reached the appropriate status to work, drive and travel.

“As a person of faith, I believe the best thing to keep our country safe is loving our neighbor and keeping families together.  Sen. Klobuchar, you need to work to amend the immigration bill to allow aspiring Americans to become citizens and keep family reunification at the center through a family-based visa system,” said community member, Grecia Lozano Fuentes.

The Campaign for Citizenship, an initiative of ISAIAH and the PICO National Network, plans to host prayer vigils in the Twin Cities and across the country until a roadmap for citizenship becomes a reality for all aspiring Americans.