is director of public policy and advocacy ministry for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Pennsylvania

The top 2008 priority for Pennsylvania identified by Senate President Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati is Senate Bill 9. Making its way through the chamber since last spring, SB 9 - the Proof of Citizenship for Public Benefits Act - requires the submission of government-issued identification as a condition of receiving a wide variety of public benefits.

In a state where 1.4 million people live in poverty, where there is a $4.6 billion shortfall in adequate funding for K-12 public education, and where nearly 800,000 people do not have health insurance, a bill that would accomplish little or nothing is the top priority?

This bill's intended targets - immigrants who are not lawfully present in the United States - already are ineligible for all major benefit programs. At the Senate State Government Committee's Oct. 17, 2007, hearing on this bill, no group or individual stepped forward with any evidence - not even one anecdotal example - of undocumented individuals improperly receiving public benefits in Pennsylvania.

This bill would harm tens of thousands of low-income Pennsylvanians - citizens and legal immigrants alike - who lack government-issued identification or cannot easily get it. A study in November 2006 by New York University Law School's Brennan Center for Justice found 11 percent of all U.S. citizens did not have government-issued identification, 15 percent of citizens earning less than $35,000 per year lacked government-issued ID, and 25 percent of adult African American citizens lacked government-issued ID.

People of faith always have heard a particular call to action to raise our voices on behalf of those in greatest need and to take action for justice - including people living in poverty, victims of domestic violence, and minorities. We reject "enforcement-only" legislation that criminalizes undocumented people and denies fair treatment for farmworkers who provide our daily bread. Furthermore, we reject legislation that would do harm to needy individuals, including citizens and legal immigrants, by denying public benefits.

In setting forth principles for immigration reform, the faith community draws upon Judeo-Christian tradition and the principle that we should show compassion to newcomers in our midst. These newcomers are integral to our communities and to the nation's economic, cultural and political fabric. As a nation of immigrants grounded in the rule of law, we must be humane and just to newcomers while ensuring orderly migration.

As people of faith concerned with immigration reform, we support the rule of law and adherence to law and order. However, we also must seek to change the law if and when it does not create a healthy existence. The status quo of exploitation, illegality and human suffering is unacceptable, and we can wait no longer for our elected leaders to develop a practical and humane solution that we, as a nation under God, have an obligation to realize. We, therefore, urge all elected officials to change their course and provide leadership that builds consensus around a comprehensive, fair and humane immigration-reform plan enacted by the U.S. Congress that is consistent with this nation's values and our belief that all men, women and families are created equal in the eyes of God.

Let us stand together ready to work with our Congress and the president to pass a new, fair and humane comprehensive immigration-reform law that welcomes immigrants for the common good. With a comprehensive approach to immigration reform, we can create a society that is stable, strong and healthy.

In the meantime, let us resist "enforcement-only" legislation that harms needy people. Senate Bill 9 being considered by the Pennsylvania General Assembly would harm not only undocumented immigrants, but individuals needing food assistance and other human services who are citizens and legal immigrants as well. Let us focus our attention on greater priorities rather than something that will accomplish little or nothing at all.