Evangelical group to back immigration bill

• Radio ads will hit 56 districts in 14 states
• The House is expected to consider immigration bills in October
• Group picked districts because of their large concentrations of evangelicals

WASHINGTON -- A coalition of evangelical Christians will spend more than $400,000 on radio ads urging members of Congress to support immigration changes that includes a path to citizenship for most of the 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States.

The ads, which will run mainly on Christian radio stations this month, are aimed at spurring evangelicals to lobby their lawmakers to support change. The ad buy is the largest to date by the Evangelical Immigration Table, which has spent nearly $1 million since its founding 14 months ago.

"Right now, members of Congress are home for their August recess, listening to what their constituents want them to do for the rest of this year," said Barrett Duke, vice president for public policy and research for the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. "We want them to know that we believe broad immigration reform is necessary and urgent. They'll return to Washington knowing they have support at home for taking action."

The House is expected to resume consideration of immigration legislation in October. So far, the House has rejected the idea of passing the sweeping immigration bill approved by the Senate in June. House leaders are still struggling with how to address immigrants living in the country illegally.

The ads will air in 56 congressional districts in 14 states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin. Most of the districts are represented by Republicans.

The districts were chosen because they are represented by key lawmakers and because they have a strong presence by evangelicals, said Galen Carey, vice president of government relations for the National Association of Evangelicals.

In many of the targeted congressional districts, local pastors will speak in the radio ads.

"I decided to record this radio ad because I feel that I could be the voice of those who are voiceless in my congregation," said Felix Cabrera, a pastor at Quail Springs Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. "As a Hispanic pastor, I have to deal with the collateral damage in our community when families are separated because of our immigration system."

The pastors said biblical teachings compel them to act.

"Christ calls us as evangelical Christians to compassion and justice," said Bob Lowman, director of the Metrolina Baptist Association in Charlotte, N.C.

But a spokesman for the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which opposes citizenship for undocumented immigrants, said the evangelicals are "well meaning but misguided."

"They assume that America has a moral obligation to help illegal aliens who have come to this country," said federation spokesman Bob Dane. "But if we accept that we have the moral obligation to give amnesty to the 12 million who are here right now, aren't we going to have the same obligation to the next 12 million and the next after that? That's not justice and morality, that's chaos."

The immigration bill passed by the Senate in June would hurt American workers by bringing in more foreign workers to compete for jobs, Dane said.

"I think before the evangelicals make yet another ad buy, maybe they should spend a few days down at the unemployment office talking to struggling Americans looking for work," he said.

The ads are being paid for by the National Immigration Forum, a non-profit immigrant rights group that supports a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Ali Noorani, the forum's executive director, said financial resources for the Evangelical Immigration Table's efforts are coming from a range of supporters, including new conservative donors such as Paul Singer -- a hedge fund manager and major donor to Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign.

"But really, this effort transcends politics," Noorani said. "The story is not just that conservative businesses, families and individuals are supporting a broad movement for reform. It's really the 60,000-plus evangelicals in America who have signed up as Pray for Reform prayer partners, and the local congregations whose hearts and minds have changed."

Duke, the Southern Baptist leader, said evangelicals already have strong ties with many conservative members of Congress and may be a better position than traditional immigrant rights groups to sway them.

"There are 35 Southern Baptists in Congress," said Duke. "We already have the relationship with evangelical lawmakers. But my experience, generally speaking, is that members of Congress, whether Democrats or Republicans, have been very open to us."