When it comes to the topic of immigration, there’s an honest truth we need to reckon with: We already have de facto amnesty. Millions of people are living in the shadows, employers ignore the current rules, and law enforcement — which varies wildly from administration to administration — too often goes after the wrong targets.
The Dignity Act ends that. It replaces chaos with accountability, without abandoning the rule of law. And it treats those who’ve lived here for decades with the dignity they deserve.
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Today’s immigration enforcement system punishes the wrong people and protects no one effectively. We should be targeting the cartels, not the churches. The criminals bringing fentanyl, not the families bringing faith. The coyote, not the construction worker. The narco, not the nanny. When the system shows up at a sanctuary instead of a drug den, it fails twice — failing the families it tears apart, and failing the citizens who never see the serious threats stopped.
The Dignity Act fixes that. It starts by taking roll so we can figure out who’s here. It demands more border security, mandates verification of work authorization, and holds employers accountable. It then carves out a precise, earned pathway for long-term, nonviolent illegal immigrants who meet strict criteria — paying $7,000 in fees, contributing 1% to the Treasury, passing background checks, and acknowledging they entered this country illegally. They earn legal status, not citizenship. That is not amnesty. That is accountability with order, and compassion with consequences.
We named this the Dignity Act for a reason. Our founders enshrined a biblical idea into American law: All men are created equal. Genesis 1:27 tells us every person is made in God’s image, and Deuteronomy 10:19 commands that we love the stranger. The Bible even unpacks migration in several infamous stories. Joseph was trafficked. Daniel was exiled. Jesus himself was a refugee.
The immigration debate is not just about borders. It is about who we are before God and before history.
We’re also bringing up immigration in the context of people of faith for a very newsworthy reason. Roughly 1 in 12 Christians in America is an illegal immigrant or lives in a mixed-status family. That’s roughly 10 million believers at risk of deportation. Get this wrong, and we will witness the largest forced exodus of Christians in American history.
Pastors across the country are already reporting attendance drops of 30% or more. As I wrote earlier this year, these are not criminals hiding from horrific crimes. They are congregants who have lived in the same neighborhoods for a decade, sometimes much longer. They are hardworking, God-fearing people who do not depend on government subsidies. They worship faithfully, raise families, and love this country. At one Midwestern church, roughly 75% to 80% of the congregation stopped attending altogether. Empty pews on Sunday. Fear in the community Monday through Saturday.
America has never driven Christians into the shadows, until now. A nation grounded in religious freedom simply cannot become a place where people are afraid to go to church. As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:26, “If one part of the body suffers, all suffer.” Well today, the church body in America is suffering.
The faith community sees this clearly, which is why the Dignity Act has built a massive coalition behind it. The National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which represents more than 40,000 churches, has endorsed it. So have the National Association of Evangelicals, the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, the Evangelical Immigration Table, the Asian American Christian Collaborative, World Relief, the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities, and the Christian Family Coalition of Florida, among many others.
The pews are not the only place our current system fails. Approximately 400,000 manufacturing jobs remain unfilled. Agriculture is lacking 155,000 workers and counting. Only 182 Americans applied for 415,000 farm jobs in 2025. One in three construction workers is an immigrant; 1 in 5 healthcare workers is too. Consequently, about 1.5 million U.S. citizens are separated from their spouses or living in fear of separation. Ninety-nine percent of those spouses have been here more than a decade, and three-quarters of those families have American-born children. America has even deported an estimated 10,000 noncitizen veterans recently — honorable people who have worn the uniform.
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The Dignity Act brings order for the hardworking, churchgoing parents who have raised their children here, many of whom do not have so much as a parking ticket. It increases border security, restores respect for the rule of law, and finally resolves the ambiguity our enforcement system has dealt with for too long. It is just. It is merciful. And it proves that good policy and moral clarity can coexist.
That is what dignity looks like. That is what America is supposed to look like. Congress should pass the Dignity Act now.
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez is the lead pastor of New Season Church and president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, the largest Hispanic Christian organization in America, representing millions of Christians worldwide. He has advised three U.S. presidents and is the first Latino to participate in multiple presidential inaugurations. A No. 1 bestselling author, he has written 12 books, including Persevere with Power. Rodriguez is a movie producer with Breakthrough and Flamin Hot both receiving Academy Award nominations for best original song. He is widely recognized by major media outlets as one of the most influential Christian leaders in America.
