Skip to main content

Top Leadership on Both Sides of Aisle to Address National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast

Share This article

Vice President Mike Pence is the keynote speaker at this year's National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast in Washington on June 14, but he won't be the only high-powered lawmaker addressing the crowd.
 
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will also speak to about 500 evangelical Latino faith leaders about what's being done on Capitol Hill to address major issues facing the country today, like immigration and religious freedom.
 
"We are blessed that we have both sides of the aisle," Rev. Luis Cortes, host of the National Hispanic Prayer Breakfast and Conference (NHPBC) and president and founder of the Hispanic faith-based group Esperanza, told CBN News. "As people of faith, our job is to talk to power and to leadership and to say to them Jesus believes this."  

A major issue the pastors are focused on speaking to lawmakers about is protecting religious freedom for faith leaders through a repeal of the Johnson Amendment.

"We have freedom of religion and freedom of speech. How do you put those two together and say, 'Well, if you say something from the pulpit, we'll punish you by taking away your tax status'?" said Cortes. "We think that's wrong."

And Cortes has worked with every administration since President Bill Clinton's on immigration reform. He says while they haven't been able to get anything across the finish line yet, he hopes that at least a permanent fix for recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, is on the horizon with many lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressing strong support for protecting the Dreamers.

"The Israelites were 40 years in the desert, and this is our desert. So we will continue and push forward and push forward," continued Cortes. "We know that one day there are going to be hundreds of thousands of Christian people hitting their knees and thanking God because the miracle has happened – you know what the miracle is? That we actually got a bipartisan bill passed in the United States of America."

Speaker Ryan announced Tuesday he will bring two bills addressing a solution for the Dreamers to the House floor next week. One bill is a more conservative immigration bill introduced by Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). The other bill that is still being finalized is said to be a more moderate compromise bill.

Cortes says he does not think the Goodlatte legislation will pass, but he looks forward to Ryan giving the crowd more details on this proposed GOP compromise bill Thursday morning.

"We're very hopeful," said Cortes. "We have no idea what that is, but we're praying that it would be the answer or the solution that we could forge something where enough people from both sides of the aisle – we could actually get something bipartisan to address the young people that are here."

Cortes says ultimately he would like to see a bill passed that offers the Dreamers a chance to stay in America permanently but also strengthens border security.

"I am hopeful that we will be able to stand outside the White House and give a great cry to the Lord when Donald Trump signs that legislation," said Cortes.

Another big issue the pastors are advocating for is an end to the new policy of separating families at the border.
 
"We feel that the new policy of taking a child away from a parent as they come to the border, we think that's a little bit too harsh," Cortes told CBN News. "We also think that's trauma-inducing to the children."

"We think we need to keep these kids together and then do whatever we need to do in terms of – do we prosecute them or do they have the ability to stay in our country?" he continued. "Whether they're refugees or not, those are political decisions we have to make, but we want to focus on the family."

Cortes tells CBN News he believes Christians on both sides of the aisle should call their lawmakers and advocate against separating families.

"We believe that we have no choice but to keep parents and their children together," said Cortes.
 

Share This article

About The Author

Abigail
Robertson

Abigail Robertson serves as the White House Correspondent for CBN News, where she has worked since 2015. As a reporter, Abigail covers stories from a Christian perspective on American politics and the news of the day. Before her role at the White House, Abigail covered Capitol Hill, where she interviewed notable lawmakers such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan. During her time on the Hill, Abigail loved highlighting how God is moving in the House and Senate by covering different ministries on Capitol Hill and sharing lawmakers’ testimonies and