Interfaith Leaders speak against “big beautiful bill”: June 26, 2025

Before the vote in the United States Senate on HR1 budget bill, interfaith leaders sent this letter to the senators.

Interfaith Leaders speak against “big beautiful bill”

NEWS RELEASE

Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe,

Promulgates National Faith Leaders’ Letter to U.S. Senators on HR1 Budget Bill

ALBUQUERQUE – Thursday, June 26, 2025—IMMEDIATE RELEASE—On behalf of faith leaders throughout the United States of America, Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, is promulgating the following letter to the United States Senators who are currently considering HR1, the budget reconciliation bill.

Dear Senator:

We, the undersigned faith leaders, write to ask for your opposition to HR 1, the budget reconciliation legislation currently being considered by the U.S. Senate. We believe that the changes made by the U.S. Senate to the legislation are insufficient and do not significantly mitigate its adverse effects.

First, it provides tens of billions of dollars to the government to undertake a mass deportation campaign which will separate U.S. families, harm U.S.-citizen and immigrant children, and sow chaos in local communities. It will spur immigration raids across the nation, harming hard-working immigrant families essential to our economy and causing widespread unrest like we recently witnessed in Los Angeles.

This funding also will be used to target faith communities, as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has removed places of worship from its sensitive locations list, allowing ICE agents to enter them for enforcement purposes. We have already witnessed a reduction in attendance at many of our religious services in our denominations, as the threat of enforcement has deterred many families from practicing their faith.

Moreover, the bill provides funding for a border wall along the U.S.

-Mexico border which we believe will drive migrants into the most remote regions of the border and lead to an increase in migrant deaths. It also would hurt the local environment along the border and force desperate asylum-seekers seeking safety to increasingly rely on human smugglers.

As you should know, our faith organizations have long favored the creation of legal avenues for migration and a legalization program for immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years and contributed their hard work to our economy. We believe the adoption of these policies, instead of the implementation of a mass deportation campaign, would not only benefit immigrant workers and their families, but be in the best interest of our nation.

Second, the legislation makes severe cuts in healthcare coverage and food assistance to millions of both low-income citizens and legal residents, including asylum-seekers and refugees, driving them deeper into poverty. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the bill transfers wealth from those in the bottom 10 percent of income to those in the top 10 percent of income in our nation, increasing the already large gap between the rich and the poor.

From our various faith perspectives, the moral test of a nation is how it treats those most in need of support. In our view, this legislation will harm the poor and vulnerable in our nation, to the detriment of the common good. Its passage would be a moral failure for American society as a whole.We respectfully ask you to vote “no” on the budget reconciliation legislation, HR 1.

Sincerely,

His Eminence Cardinal Robert W. McElroy Archbishop of Washington, DC His Eminence Cardinal Joseph William Tobin, CSsR

Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey

Imam Jamal Rahman Interfaith Community Sanctuary, Seattle, Washington Rabbi Daniel Weiner

Seattle, Washington

The Rt. Reverend Philip N. LaBelle Bishop

Episcopal Diocese of Olympia

Reverend Douglas Avilesbernal, Executive Minister – Evergreen Baptist Association

Presiding Elder Spencer Francis Barrett, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Cascade District

Rabbi Sarah Bassin, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (Rabbi-in-residence)

Most Reverend Ramon Bejarano, Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego, California

Most Reverend Steven Biegler, Bishop of Cheyenne, Wyoming

Most Reverend Roy E. Campbell, Jr., Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, DC

Most Reverend Anthony C. Celino, Auxiliary Bishop of El Paso, Texas

The Rt. Reverend Angela M. Cortiñas, VII Bishop Suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas

Most Reverend Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop Emeritus of Brooklyn, New York

Most Reverend John P. Dolan, Bishop of Phoenix, Arizona

Most Reverend Eusebio L. Elizondo, MSpS, Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle, Washington

Most Reverend Paul D. Etienne, Archbishop of Seattle, Washington

Reverend Dr. SanDawna Gaulman Ashley, Synod of the Northeast, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Imam Taha Hassane, Islamic Center of San Diego, California

Reverend Lynne Hinton, Conference Director, New Mexico Conference of Churches

Bishop Richard Jaech, Southwestern Washington Synod – Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

Most Reverend Joseph R. Kopacz, Bishop of Jackson, Mississippi

Bishop Dave Nagler, Pacifica Synod – ELCA

Most Reverend Michael Pham, Bishop-designate of San Diego, California

Most Reverend Felipe Pulido, Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego, California

The Rt. Reverend Jennifer A. Reddall, VI Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona

Ruling Elder Conrad M. Rocha, Synod of the Southwest (PCUSA)

Most Reverend Mitchell Thomas Rozanski, Archbishop of St. Louis, Missouri

Reverend Dr. Gabriel Salguero,Pastor, The Gathering Place and President, National Latino Evangelical

Coalition, Orlando, Florida

Most Reverend Frank Schuster, Auxiliary Bishop of Seattle, Washington

The Rt. Reverend Susan Brown Snook, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of San Diego

Most Reverend Jaime Soto, Bishop of Sacramento, California

Most Reverend John Stowe, OFM Conv., Bishop of Lexington, Kentucky

Most Reverend Joseph J. Tyson, Bishop of Yakima, Washington

Bishop Shelley Bryan Wee, Northwest Washington Synod, ELCA

Most Reverend Edward J. Weisenberger, Archbishop of Detroit, Michigan

Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, New Mexico

Institute Leadership Team, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas:

Sister Susan M. Sanders, RSM, President

Sister Teresa Bednarz, RSM

Sister Patricia C. Flynn, RSM

Sister Judith Frikker, RSM

Sister Maureen King, RSM

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