Berkley Center

Immigration policy advocate Ali Noorani brought a timely, nuanced presentation on the role of the faith community in the immigration policy debate. Noorani is the executive director of the National Immigration Forum in Washington. In a political environment where congressional Democrats are eager to move forward with comprehensive immigration reform, Noorani gives context to how the policy debate is playing out within Republican circles. He touches on the electoral, economic, and religious implications of national Republican leaders softening the party’s perceived anti-immigrant image. With a specific focus on how and why the immigration issue is near and dear to the hearts of religious Americans, Noorani offers a nuanced analysis of the immigration debate likely to unfold early in President Barack Obama’s second term. A diverse range of evangelical leaders are committed to reform. But a key question that remains is whether white evangelicals at the mass level (who have largely opposed “amnesty”) will follow the elites who lead the National Association of Evangelicals and the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission in supporting reform.