"We don’t want your prayer. We don’t want your letter," barked a Kirk campaign volunteer through a locked glass door of the Congressman’s Chicago campaign office.
Undeterred, Max Kuecker slid his letter – along with the testimony of a DREAM student who wants to serve in the U.S. Armed Forces – through the mail slot in the door. The volunteer kicked the letter to the side.
Mr. Kuecker was one of a small, multi-ethnic group of Chicago-area Evangelical leaders who wanted to pray for their candidate for Senator, his campaign staff and their support for an issue their faith called them to: the DREAM Act. The DREAM Act is a bill that would give undocumented kids – some brought here by their parents as babies – the opportunity to earn a pathway to legal status by joining the military or completing at least 2 years of college. Congressman Kirk declared opposition to this bill 10 days ago.
The Bible teaches us to welcome the foreigner in our land with love and hospitality," said Mr. Kuecker as he started a prayer circle outside the office. As he spoke, another Kirk volunteer inside the building shined a laser beam in his face to distract him.
"Today we pray not only for our immigrant brothers and sisters, but also for transformation in the hearts of those inside that campaign office."
Today’s event was part of a statewide effort by Illinois Immigrant Action to educate immigrant voters about Kirk’s history on immigration and to request a meeting with the Congressman. The group’s members – representing all faiths, ethnic organizations, military veterans, and business leaders – has generated 437,167 calls to immigrant voters, held 5 actions this week alone, and released a viral video this election season.
Over the last 2 years, the group and its partners have met with Democratic and Republican legislators and candidates statewide about the immigration issue – including State Senate and House Minority Leaders Radogno and Cross, and Republican candidate for Governor Bill Brady. Yet in that time the group has submitted more than 40 formal requests for a meeting with Congressman Kirk, visited his office in-person 7 times, and still no meeting.
Leaders at today’s prayer were not yet ready to give up. Holding hands, they sang songs of worship, and told stories of loved ones affected by the broken immigration system.
Walter Bohorquez, and Evangelical pastor who has found himself in deportation proceedings, talked about the impact of his case on his U. S. citizen wife and children, before concluding:
"I have faith that God will provide. He will provide for my family, and for the thousands of kids who want to serve their country, and for all the other families who are being separated."
The prayer service marked the latest in a string of local and nation Evangelical-led support for immigration reform – from Bill Hybels central role in Obama’s immigration speech to the NAE’s resolution supporting reform to Jim Wallis’s leadership in helping to introduce the DREAM Act this past September, when it came 3 votes shy of passing on a mostly party-line vote.
As a Republican heckler with a flip camera tried to break up the prayer vigil, Mr. Kuecker offered in closing: "I’m here today because at times my church, the white Evangelical church, generally sat on the sidelines during the civil rights movement. This time, I want us to be on the right side of history."