Evangelical Christian leaders call for immigration reform

Pressing a cause that they've championed for years, the officials with various Christian groups said bipartisan immigration reform should be introduced within 92 days after the president's second term begins — a reference to the number of times the word for immigrant appears in the Bible.

Barrett Duke, vice president for public policy and research at the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said in a conference call with reporters that the ultimate goal of immigration reform should be legal status and citizenship for those already in the United States.

Duke said there is still “anxiety” among Southern Baptists about immigration reform but also “an openness now from more people than I've heard in awhile.”

Obama has said immigration reform would be a top priority next year and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said last week that comprehensive reform was overdue.