Calif. Gov. Jerry Brown: Americans Have 'Religious Call' to Embrace Immigrants

Rebecca Bellecci Tuesday, July 29, 2014

California Governor Jerry Brown leaves a news conference at the State Capitol in Sacramento, California, in this file photo.

California's Governor Jerry Brown recently said that Americans have a "religious call" to welcome immigrants crossing the U.S. border from Central America.

Brown, a Democrat, made his comments while speaking at a climate change event in Mexico recently. The governor decried Texas Gov. Rick Perry's recent announcement that he would deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops to Texas's border with Mexico to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing into the country.

"This is a human problem, and it has been the religious call of all religions to welcome the stranger, and it's in that spirit that I believe the clergy can call the United States, Mexico and all the players to perhaps a higher response than might otherwise happen," Brown said while speaking after arriving in this week Mexico, according to the Sacramento Bee.

The California governor went on to say that although he did not want to speculate on what strategies may work best in maintaining the border, he did feel Perry's suggestion at deploying National Guard troops was misguided.

"I hesitate to comment on the thinking that goes into the support of the Texas National Guard on the border. I would suspect that it will be of a relatively short duration, and wiser minds will prevail over the next several months," Brown said.

In regard to the influx of immigrants currently entering the U.S. as they flee violence in Central America, specifically Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala, Texas Gov. Rick Perry previously said he would deploy up to 1,000 National Guard troops to the border to both dissuade drug cartels from entering the U.S. and to refer illegal immigrant children to immigration officials.

At a congressional hearing in south Texas earlier this month, Perry encouraged lawmakers to "secure this border once and for all," adding that the recent influx of immigrants has "strained border resources that were already insufficient to the task at hand," making "the border between the U.S. and Mexico is less secure today than at any time in the recent past."