New York – The Rabbinical Assembly is heartened that five million undocumented immigrants are no longer at immediate risk for deportation. The RA has continuously and consistently advocated for the rights of immigrants in Resolutions passed in 1992, 1995, 1997, 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2013, and recognizes that the Jewish people have benefited from immigration policies in the United States. The RA is hopeful that President Obama’s Executive Order will spur Congress to create a more permanent immigration solution.
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, Executive Vice President stated:
The United States, since its founding, has been a land that has been made great by the presence of immigrants, allowing peoples of countless backgrounds to find safe haven in an open society. As a Jewish people, we remember the words of Exodus, “You shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger” (Exodus 23:9). We hope this Executive Order will be a first step toward Congress enacting a bipartisan legislative solution for immigration reform in the United States.
Rabbi William Gershon, President added:
The Rabbinical Assembly has passed more than twenty resolutions since 1952 reaffirming our progressive stance on immigration. Immigrants have inordinately contributed to our country’s dynamism and success, and easing the path of immigrants is an affirmation of our values as an open and just society.
Updated: November 24, 2014