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When Jenny Hwang first began working at World Relief in Baltimore, she wasn't sure she even believed what the relief arm of the National Association of Evangelicals was teaching about domestic immigration policy. "I had a lot of concern, because these immigrants broke the rule of law," she says. "How come they couldn't come the legal way? If I'm going to be advocating for immigration reform, I need to believe in it."

A graduate of Johns Hopkins University, Hwang had studied immigration laws in Spain (with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees) and Costa Rica. But she didn't delve into U.S. immigration policy until becoming WR's director for advocacy and policy for the refugee and immigration program in 2006. Now her book (with Matthew Soerens), Welcoming the Stranger, tells what she's learned in the position and the stories she's heard. She recently spoke with CT assistant editor Katelyn Beaty.

Why have World Relief and the National Association of Evangelicals been more outspoken on domestic immigration reform in recent years?

We recognize first and foremost that this is not just about policies but about individual people, people who are [often] part of the body of Christ. At World Relief, we get calls almost every day, not just from immigrants themselves (whom we serve in our 22 offices), but also from pastors who are dealing with a significant number of undocumented immigrants in their congregations. They can meet their spiritual needs, but sometimes can't meet physical needs or social needs because the immigrants are stuck in a system where they can't become legal in our country.

A lot of these immigrants are actually legal immigrants who are having problems with the current immigration system. For example, their parents have been deported and their children have U.S. citizenship. We see a lot of broken families because of the broken immigration system. We want a change so that more resources are allowed to bring families together rather than keep them apart.

Currently there are about 12 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. We [at World Relief] feel there should be a process for them to recognize that they broke the law, come out of the shadows, admit the infraction, and register so we know who they are. They learn English. They learn civics. They pay back taxes. They pay fines. And then we offer them, if they are able to earn it, the right to actually be here legally, eventually [working] toward citizenship.

But wouldn't some immigrants say, "Why would I come out of the shadows when things are working for me and I don't have to pay taxes now?"

I actually think many immigrants would want to pursue legal status because a lot of them are exploited, because they don't have the protection of the rule of law. The employers think that because [the immigrants] are not legal, they can't report any abuses to any authorities. And there is a growing fear in immigrant communities of deportation, so they do want to get right with the law. When you get to know a lot of these immigrants, they have actually tried to come legally, but they weren't able to because of our severely limited visa system.

Also, it's a myth that undocumented immigrants don't pay taxes. A majority of them actually do. A lot of immigrants are paying taxes into Social Security right now. A lot of them use fake Social Security numbers, so they get taxed but they cannot file tax returns. They don't ever receive the taxes in their refund because their Social Security numbers aren't matching. The Social Security Administration has over $2 billion from uncollected refunds, mostly from undocumented immigrants. In addition, a lot of immigrants buy houses and pay into real estate tax.

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May (Web-only) 2009, Vol. 53