A small group of evangelical Christians gathered in a Midtown community center Tuesday night to pray for "comprehensive immigration reform," a phrase that normally includes granting legal status to people in the country illegally.
"It's about reuniting families," said Greg Diaz, the pastor of Nueva Direccion, a Hispanic church in Hickory Hill.
He quoted from the book of Exodus: "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him."
Diaz said many evangelical leaders don't take the same position. "(The church is) afraid to get involved locally," he said.
He urged the roughly 40 people in attendance at The Caritas Village to challenge these leaders to change their minds.
Lisa Watson, 34, who worked in coordination with the group Christian Community Development Association, organized the event. Similar events took place in other cities Tuesday night.
Efforts to overhaul the nation's immigration laws have failed in recent years, in large part over the question of how to handle illegal immigrants already here.
Critics have attacked the idea of granting legal status to such residents, saying a 1986 amnesty didn't stop a later flow of illegal immigrants.