"The Religious Left seems to attack all immigration law enforcement as 'racist and anti-immigrant.' Is there any immigration law enforcement they can affirm?" -- Mark Tooley, IRD President

Contact: Jeff Walton, Institute on Religion and Democracy, 202-682-4131, 202-413-5639 cell, jwalton@TheIRD.org

WASHINGTON, July 29 /Christian Newswire/ -- Energized by a recent court ruling against part of the new Arizona immigration law, Religious Left groups have orchestrated an "Isaiah 58 Solidarity Vigil and Fast for Arizona" across the United States to protest the law and to push for national liberalized immigration.

The Isaiah solidarity prayer vigil and fast across the summer was conceived by the Interfaith Immigration Coalition, a Religious Left lobby group for liberalized immigration. Members include Jim Wallis's Sojourners, United Methodist, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, and Episcopal Church agencies, left-wing Catholic groups like Pax Christi, and the Islamic Immigration Center, among others.

The Isaiah solidarity coalition has organized 8 weeks of "constant prayer and public witness" through leading up to the Arizona law's once scheduled implementation in service of "loosening the chains of injustice."

The IRD has an analysis of Christians and immigration policy viewable at the following link: www.theird.org/Page.aspx?pid=1496&frcrld=1

IRD President Mark Tooley commented:

"The Religious Left seems to attack all immigration law enforcement as 'racist and anti-immigrant.' Is there any immigration law enforcement they can affirm?

"While many advocates of liberalized immigration policies pay some lip service to border security and law enforcement, much of this Religious Left coalition is discomfited by either. They instead dream of a United States without borders, welcoming whoever wants to enter, automatically offering tax-funded social services to everyone, as reparation for America's ostensible greed, racism and imperialism.

"The utopian Religious Left does not accept that anybody can be 'illegal,' because of their view that anyone from anywhere should be able to move into the U.S. at any time.

"While the Isaiah prayer and fast coalition disapproves of regulated borders (at least for the United States), nations are morally responsible for controlling immigration precisely because both potential immigrants and citizens have enormous moral importance and merit protection from avoidable upheaval and disruption."