A Shared Foundation

As the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) encompasses major geographical, cultural, ideological and generational differences. We therefore ground our advocacy in our shared foundations: Scripture, the Lutheran theological tradition and, above all, our baptismal identity as belonging to God in the love of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.

As we work to make a difference in the shared life of our communities and our country, these values guide our witness in society.

Civic Engagement

• Facilitate depolarizing conversations and relationships.
• Foster cultural and political pluralism.
• Support Lutheran participation in civic life and public witness.
• Honor and pray for our elected officials and public servants.

Following are policy priorities discerned for ELCA federal advocacy during the 119th Congress, which convened in

Washington, D.C., in January 2025 and will end in January 2027.

Economic Policy

• Support poor and working families.
• Expand the supply of affordable housing.
• Advance a just and sustainable tax code.
• Reduce bureaucratic and administrative burden.
• Care for farmers, hungry neighbors, and creation.

Migration Policy

• Ensure stable families and communities.
• Maintain a safe and orderly border.
• Oppose mass deportation.
• Respect human dignity in immigration enforcement.
• Protect vulnerable women, children, refugees and asylum seekers.

Civil Rights Policy

• Prevent discrimination.
• Protect religious liberty for all.
• Improve outcomes for disadvantaged groups.
• Recognize and address historical injustices.
• Support mental health of high-risk groups.
• Uphold constitutional rights and promote good governance.

International Policy

• Restore and support humanitarian aid.
• Defend human rights and religious freedom.
• Advance women and girls’ rights and equality.
• Help prevent conflicts and build peace.
• Model moral consistency in foreign policy.

Environment & Energy Policy

• Pursue pragmatic climate solutions.
• Support impacted communities.
• Promote community health.
• Prepare for and respond to natural disasters.

Middle East & North Africa Policy

• Insist on equal rights and safety for all in the Holy Land.
• Stabilize the Middle East and North Africa region.
• Protect civilian life.
• Defend freedom of religion and religious minorities.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY + FULL STATEMENT OF ELCA FEDERAL POLICY PRIORITIES FOR THE 119TH CONGRESS

Find the full ELCA Federal Policy Priorities for the 119th Congress with theological foundations and policy priority details through the ELCA Resource Center, by contacting the ELCA Witness in Society staff at washingtonoffice@elca.org, or by clicking the link below. More about ELCA Witness in Society is available from ELCA.org/advocacy.

How can you get involved?

Our ministry of advocacy is a public witness to God’s love for our neighbor, ourselves and for all creation. In addition to activity in Washington, D.C., on federal advocacy priorities, this public witness is also organized by state public policy offices in the ELCA Advocacy Network, through our ELCA Corporate Social Responsibility strategy and by Lutheran Office for World Community representation to the United Nations – plus the advocacy of members, congregations and synods.

Connect with the ELCA Advocacy Network for updates and invitations to action at ELCA.org/advocacy/signup. Find resources at ELCA.org/resources/advocacy and a community with which to engage on social media @ELCAadvocacy.

ELCA Federal Policy

ELCA Federal Policy Statement

Calling all hunger champions: join this network of the Grand Canyon Synod! Meet to hear updates on national and local Hunger and Food Insecurity efforts and initiatives, to learn from one another, and to share with the group what’s happening in our congregations. Anyone interested in alleviating hunger is welcome. Prepare to be encouraged and supported! Tuesday, 7/28/2026, 6-7pm MST.

If you have any questions about this group, please contact Solveig Muus (LAMA).

Click here to access the meeting, at 6pm on the last Tuesday of every month.

Join Zoom Meeting

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Meeting ID: 874 3817 1116

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JULY 8, 2026

Beloved in Christ,

Grace and peace be with you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Today, I write with a heavy heart.

Recently, the Supreme Court issued a decision that will allow this administration to proceed with terminating Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 330,000 people from Haiti and 3,800 from Syria, many of whom have lived in this country for decades. They are not strangers. They are part of the fabric of our whole society. The termination of TPS threatens to separate families, destabilize local economies and force people to return to countries where they may face severe humanitarian crises, violence and threats to their very lives. 

This ruling comes amid a series of changes in U.S. policy that have increasingly restricted legal pathways for immigrants and those seeking protection. Last week the Supreme Court upheld a policy allowing individuals to be blocked from applying for asylum at the U.S. border. At the same time, we are witnessing the deportation of people with pending asylum claims after perfunctory mass hearings — often without access to legal representation. The refugee resettlement program, once a sign of this nation’s commitment to welcome, remains largely closed to most nationalities and races, with a narrow exception for white South Africans.

We are a people shaped by the Word of God, called by the apostle Paul to “welcome one another … just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God” (Romans 15:7). As Lutherans, we confess a faith that compels us to welcome and protect the vulnerable, to honor the dignity God gives every human being, and to uphold laws and policies that provide refuge to those fleeing violence, persecution and profound hardship. 

In this moment, I invite this church to prayer, lament and action.

As a church, we pray for protection and justice for all TPS holders — from Haiti and Syria, and for the more than 1.3 million people who may be affected by this decision, including those from Venezuela, El Salvador, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and many other nations. May God’s mercy surround them and sustain them in the days ahead.

As a church, we pray for the churches, ministries and leaders of the ELCA who walk alongside immigrant communities through accompaniment, advocacy and immigration services. May they be granted wisdom, strength and courage for the work to which God has called them.

As a church, we lament the dehumanization of immigrants through rhetoric rooted in racism, white supremacy, xenophobia and fear — particularly against Black and Brown immigrants. We reject the spread of lies and conspiracy theories that falsely accuse these communities of harm. And we recommit ourselves to speaking truth, honoring dignity and recognizing every person as made in the image of God.

As a church, we call on the administration to do what is just — to extend TPS protections where conditions remain dangerous and unstable, and to support comprehensive immigration reform that reflects both justice and mercy, offering welcome to those who seek safety within our borders.

And I ask each of you, faithful people of God, to continue the work of love: through prayer, through advocacy, through accompaniment and through faithful witness in your communities.

Beloved, in times like these, it is easy to grow weary. But we are not alone. The God who calls us is faithful. The risen Christ invites us forward. The presence of the Spirit fills us with the power and courage to act.

Together, we walk the way of Jesus — with courage, with compassion and with hope.

May the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Amen.

In Christ,

The Rev. Yehiel Curry
Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 

I invite you to connect with AMMPARO, our church’s strategy for accompanying migrants with protection, advocacy, representation and opportunities, to support accompaniment with immigrants and those forcibly displaced. And you may engage through an Action Alert on TPS through ELCA Witness in Society.

Ask your senators to pass legislation to protect Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders.

On June 25, 2026, the Supreme Court issued a decision that will allow the U.S. administration to proceed with terminating TPS – a legal immigration status intended to protect people from returning to countries where they face harm – for more than 330,000 people from Haiti and 3,800 from Syria.

The termination of legal status threatens to separate families, destabilize local U.S. economies and force people to return to countries where they may face severe humanitarian crises, violence and threats to their lives. The decision will likely also impact more than 1.3 million TPS holders from nations including Venezuela, which is faced with recovering from a devastating earthquake.

The Rev. Yehiel Curry, ELCA presiding bishop, shared a statement on SCOTUS immigration decisions. As Lutherans, we confess a faith that stirs us to welcome and protect the vulnerable, to honor the dignity God bestows on every human being, and to uphold laws and policies that provide refuge to those fleeing violence, persecution and profound hardship. 

The ELCA has called on the administration to do what is right – to extend TPS protections where conditions remain dangerous and unstable and support comprehensive immigration reform that reflects both justice and mercy. The House of Representatives has already passed a bipartisan bill to extend protections for Haiti TPS holders.

Use this Action Alert to ask your senators to co-sponsor the Senate version of the House bill, S. 4814, and to urge the administration to protect TPS holders who face loss of legal status and deportation to countries where they are not safe.

Customize this message with your faith convictions and connections to immigrants or TPS holders in your community.

Contact your lawmakers today. Customize your message with your experiences and values.

Find your Member of Congress Here

Senator Catherine Cortez Mastro, 202-224-3542, https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/

Senator Jackie Rosen, 202-224-6244, https://www.rosen.senate.gov/

Rep. Dina Titus, (202)-225-5965, https://titus.house.gov/

Rep. Mark Amodei, (202)-225-6155, https://amodei.house.gov/

Rep. Susie Lee, (202)-225-3252, https://susielee.house.gov/

Rep Steven Horsford, (202)-225-9894, https://horsford.house.gov/

If you would like to schedule time with your legislator, please reach out to Pastor Paul,and he is willing to work with ELCA Advocacy Partners to secure a time.

Act Now!

Call on Congress to support the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act of 2025.

In response to human trafficking, the ELCA brings distinctive theological witness grounded in the recognition that every person is made in the image of God and has God-given dignity and worth. Human trafficking is coercion, abduction and/or imprisonment of people for forced labor, often of a sexual nature.

Christians are called to recognuze and lament the profound harm trafficking inflicts, while also bearing witness to God’s healing, justice and hope. The church listens to and lifts up the experience of survivors, affirming both the reality of their suffering and the possibility of freedom and restoration.

The ELCA social message “Commercial Sexual Exploitation” reflects on the sin at work when persons become objects to be used for the benefit of others and calls the churhc to combat the evils of trafficking systems. Of sex trafficking, it notes: “This church supports international agreements and national laws to stop sex trafficking and calls for the will and the resources to enforce them.”

The Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization At of 2025 (H.R. 1144) gives Congress the opportunity to pass legislation that will:

1. Prioritize the dignity and experiences of survivors.
2. Reauthorize funding that strengthens anti-trafficking measures and increases survivors’ protection.
3. Support educational grants for prevention and wide-ranging social services.

In 2025, Women of the ELCA urged education, awareness and advocacy to combat human trafficking, including this prayer: “We pray that the Spirit moves us to remember that we are worthy; we are not objects, even if we are treated as such… We pray that the Spirit teaches all of us new ways to fight against this practice so that someday soon we can say how glad we are that this is not an issue anymore.”

Successful passage of this transformative bipartisan legislation is possible. Take action now and encourage members of Congress to support survivors and pass H.R. 1144.

Contact your lawmakers today. Customize your message with your experiences and values.

Find your Member of Congress Here

Senator Catherine Cortez Mastro, 202-224-3542, https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/

Senator Jackie Rosen, 202-224-6244, https://www.rosen.senate.gov/

Rep. Dina Titus, (202)-225-5965, https://titus.house.gov/

Rep. Mark Amodei, (202)-225-6155, https://amodei.house.gov/

Rep. Susie Lee, (202)-225-3252, https://susielee.house.gov/

Rep Steven Horsford, (202)-225-9894, https://horsford.house.gov/

If you would like to schedule time with your legislator, please reach out to Pastor Paul, and he is willing to work with ELCA Advocacy Partners to secure a time.

Act Now