With the U.S. House expected to vote Wednesday on the DREAM Act, evangelical leaders have weighed in on overall immigration reform and put their support behind the legislative act that would grant a path to legal status to hundreds of thousands of undocumented youth who call the U.S. home.

Galen Perry Carey, director of government affairs for the National Association of Evangelicals tells The Florida Independent, “We support the DREAM Act as one step in the immigration reform of our broken system.”

The National Association of Evangelicals represents 41 denominations that work “to extend the kingdom of God through a fellowship of member denominations, churches, organizations and individuals, demonstrating the unity of the body of Christ by standing for biblical truth, speaking with a representative voice, and serving the evangelical community through united action, cooperative ministry and strategic planning.”

A press release issued on Monday by the NAE states

When asked to name one issue on which they agree with President Obama, evangelical leaders answered with variety, listing 18 different issues of agreement, from the New START treaty and use of drones in fighting terrorism to the reduction of abortion and emphasis on fatherhood. One respondent simply stated that he agrees that Obama is the President of the United States.

“Not surprisingly, immigration was the most mentioned item of agreement,” Anderson said. In July, the NAE welcomed President Obama’s announcement to work to fix the nation’s broken immigration system. The tenets he included for comprehensive immigration reform reflected those passed by the NAE in its Immigration 2009 resolution.

Galen Carey says that issues like visas, border security, and a path to legal immigration status for the undocumented must be addressed and that the DREAM Act is one step in that direction.

“These are children brought here by their parents. We have educated them. It doesn’t make sense to leave them in limbo,” Galen Carey says. “Why not allow them to be fully productive tax-paying citizens?”

He adds that immigration reform cannot be limited to just more immigration enforcement and border security.

The National Association of Evangelicals’ 2009 immigration resolution calls on the government to develop structures and mechanisms that safeguard and monitor the national borders with efficiency and respect for human dignity, and that immigration enforcement recognizes the importance of the due process of law, the sanctity of the human person and the value of family.