Immigration

Melodi Melecio is a big believer that her life is an expression of gratitude for the choices made by her progenitors.

The Church issued the following statement Monday about the separation of children from their parents along the U.S.-Mexico border:

The Church responded to questions about its stance on sanctuary for undocumented immigrants Wednesday. The statement came after LDS mom Vicky Chavez sought sanctuary in the First Unitarian Church in Salt Lake City Tuesday to avoid deportation to Honduras. Church spokesman Eric Hawkins said:

"These are people who I've grown up with and spend a lot of time with that came from different circumstances," Kyle Ransom said. "I just wanted to tell a story about how I see the American experience in all of them even though they're not your typical high school kid."

CNN recently featured the LDS Church's efforts to help refugees around the world while sharing an interesting part in the Church's history many might not know about.

A tragic yet “largely invisible part of war and conflict” and the resulting refugee crisis is the sexual violence inflicted upon women, said Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, an apostle in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Elder Holland addressed a gathering of humanitarians, scholars, faith and government leaders at a conference sponsored by the AMAR Foundation at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom titled “Religious Persecution: The Driver for Forced Migration.”

With the presidential race in full swing, immigration reform has been a popular and controversial topic. But one congressman has decided to pull the LDS Church into the debate, and he mischaracterized the Church's stance on immigration in doing so.

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” Arguably one of the most famous openings to any novel, these words, penned by Charles Dickens, could easily be applied to a group of Mormon pioneers he encountered as they began their arduous journey across the ocean to join the Saints in America. He observed: “It is surprising to me that these people are all so cheery, and make so little of the immense distance before them.”

Reporting from Phoenix— Celia Alejandra Alvarez spent three months in a Maricopa County jail after deputies arrested her and other illegal immigrants working at a landscaping business. She said a saving grace during the "90 long days" three years ago were the visits and help she received from her "brothers" and "sisters" with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Editor, Do reporters actually do research before publishing articles? The AP reporter who wrote the article concerning Latino LDS members being against Romney and other LDS politicians was anything but factual (Feb. 21, "LDS Latinos: Keep Mitt out"). Where did the supposed member get the information that 70 percent of Latino LDS members are illegal?

When Honduran-born Antonella Cecilia Packard converted to the Mormon Faith 20 years ago, she said it was like "coming home." The Catholic-educated Packard, who grew up in "the middle of Mayan ruins," appreciated the faith's strong sense of family and conservative values. She also saw her own history in the Book of Mormon with stories of migrations, tragedies and triumphs of a people many Mormons believe are the ancestors of some present-day Latinos.

Editor's note: This article is the fourth in a five-part series examining survey findings on Mormons in America. Read the first, second and third articles. The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life's survey of Mormons released this past week confirms that U.S. Mormons are more conservative (66 percent) compared to the general public (37 percent), and on most issues, they closely track white evangelicals. But immigration is one issue that sets Mormons apart from their evangelical counterparts.

Utah community, business, political and faith leaders gathered today to mark the one-year anniversary of the Utah Compact, a document that lays out a responsible approach to the urgent challenge of immigration reform. Elder L. Whitney Clayton of the Presidency of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons), who was one of nine speakers at the event, read the following statement in behalf of the Church:

Most coverage of Tuesday’s night’s recall of state Senate President Russell Pearce ( R) in Mesa, Arizona has focused on the fact that Russell authored the state’s controversial immigration legislation.

Last night, Arizona State Senator Russell Pearce--author of the controversial and now infamous anti-immigration bill SB 1070--became the first sitting lawmaker in Arizona history to lose his seat in a recall election, in a closely fought contest that divided Mesa, Arizona's strong LDS community between Pearce, who is Mormon, and his challenger Jerry Lewis, who is also a Mormon Republican. Lewis beat Pearce 53% to 46%.

As Mitt Romney remains a front-runner for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, his Mormon faith has come under increased scrutiny.

The recent arrest and deportation of two LDS Spanish-speaking branch presidents underscores the ongoing debate between justice and mercy on immigration issues.

Both sides of the immigration debate are calling The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' statement on immigration a positive for them.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints today issued the following official statement on immigration:

For decades, Mormon conservatives have believed their politics matched the positions of their church: opposing abortion, the Equal Rights Amendment and same-sex marriage, for example.

As the angst continues to swirl within Utah Republican circles over the LDS Church’s increasingly apparent support of the Legislature’s package of immigration bills that includes a guest-worker provision, there is an elephant-in-the-room component that everyone seems to be missing. The LDS Church has as big a stake in this debate as any institution or association. Therefore, despite those who cry foul over the church’s support of more humanitarian solutions than an Arizona-style enforcement-only law, church officials and lobbyists not only had a right to get involved at the legislative level, it had an obligation to do so.