WASHINGTON (RNS) A Hispanic Christian group plans to hold monthly prayer vigils on Capitol Hill in hopes of pushing Congress toward passing an immigration reform bill.

Leaders of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders (CONLAMIC) joined Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill., to urge the government to stop deporting illegal immigrants and focus on more pressing security threats.

“Go after those who are a threat, but leave our families alone until this Congress, and very importantly, this president, fulfills his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform, so that we don’t have these problems anymore,” Gutierrez said.

“We want people to be able to adjust their (immigration) status, but people have to hear their stories.”

CONLAMIC president Rev. Miguel Rivera urged his coalition of Catholics, evangelicals and Hispanics to pray for “momentum for comprehensive immigration reform.”

Officials said the Capitol Hill prayer vigils will continue once a month in what Rivera called a “symbolic opportunity.” In addition, town hall meetings and legislative hearings will be held across the country by the Hispanic Congressional Caucus to collect petitions and gather testimonies about what Gutierrez called a “broken immigration system.”