On Tuesday September 9, a group of faith leaders, including Most Reverend Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City; Rabbi David Saperstein, the Director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism; Reverend Samuel Rodriguez, the President of the National Hispanic Leadership Conference and Dr. Jim Ryan the Council Executive for the Colorado Council of Churches launched a “Tour of the Faithful” campaign in order to advocate for the need for immigration reform as the nation moves toward elections this November. The campaign, entitled “Moral Voices Unite for Immigration Reform” is a collaborative work of different faith groups hosting 18 events around the country drawing attention to the need for reform on behalf of the human rights of all persons residing in the United States. In doing this, faith communities are acknowledging that the treatment of immigrants in the US is not in line with the tenets of their faith and as Patty Cuthbert, the moderator for the launch, explained, they’re “not letting politicians ignore the issues” as the elections approach.

While the month long tour is already underway, the faith leaders who spoke at the teleconference agree that this is not simply a pre-election action, but a collaboration that will continue after the new Congress and President are seated in order to advocate for immigration policy reform. Among the issues they will be bringing to political leaders are the preservation and unification of families, movement away from the current enforcement policies of raids and deportation, legal protection for immigrants including greater authority for judges to protect the human rights of immigrants, and the development of a bi-partisan coalition to act on behalf of this issue.

The events which will be hosted by “Tour of the Faithful” include prayer vigils, detention facility visits, workshops and rallies. For more information visit www.tourofthefaithful.org.