The Seattle Times: “Can religion bridge the divide over immigration policy?”

We’re living in a country of uncompromising division. It seems that just about every issue demands alignment with a political party or ideology — and none more than immigration.

But local conservative leader Joseph Castleberry disagrees.

Castleberry is president of Northwest University, a private Christian college in Kirkland. An evangelical and a Republican, he also identifies as “pro-immigration” and thinks more religious conservatives should do the same.

“The most-often repeated ethical injunction in the Old Testament is the injunction to be kind and to be just with immigrants,” says Castleberry. “In the New Testament, there are many scriptures that call on us to be hospitable to foreigners and strangers.”

What’s more, immigrants are the source of a “red-hot religious revival” in Christian communities in America, says Castleberry, who wrote about this phenomenon in his recent book “The New Pilgrims: How Immigrants are Renewing America’s Faith and Values.”

But he says religion isn’t the only reason conservatives should soften their stance toward immigrants — including those who live here illegally — and support comprehensive immigration reform.

Read the full story from The Seattle Times: “Can religion bridge the divide over immigration policy?”