Evangelicals support immigration reform because we treat the biblical injunctions to welcome the stranger not merely as good advice but as divine instruction for our good.

With the significant exception of Native Americans, most of us can trace our ancestry to another country or continent. We are indeed a nation of immigrants and their descendants. It is a checkered history, as evidenced by congressional apologies for injustices committed against both Native and African Americans. But there can be little doubt that our nation has achieved its current prosperity in large part due to our embrace–fitfully at times–of immigrants.

To be sure, each succeeding wave of immigrants–whether German, Italian, Irish, Chinese or Mexican, to name just a few–has had its critics. Those already here imagined that the newcomers would threaten their jobs or dilute their culture. In fact, just the opposite has been true. Immigrants have always brought energy, hope, and vision, which have fed the continual renewal of both our economy and our culture.

President Obama is right to join those in both parties, in the faith community and in civil society who have long been calling for reform of our broken immigration system. Our system has failed to keep up with the demand for both work and family reunification.

Decade-long waiting periods and absurdly inadequate quotas have resulted in a de facto immigration system in which large numbers of employers and workers bypass the formal immigration regime altogether. This has eroded respect for our laws, compromised security on our borders, and created a large body of second class citizens.