Religious leaders are mobilizing in an effort to pressure House Republicans to pass a sweeping immigration reform bill this year or they warn that the GOP will face political consequences in the 2014 midterm elections.

On Wednesday, Roman Catholic bishops and evangelical leaders sent an open letter to House members, emphasizing the urgency around passing an immigration bill. "We can no longer delay fixing the (immigration) system," states the letter, according to NBC News. "Common sense fixes to our immigration policies are long overdue."

The letter, which was signed by 19 evangelical and Catholic leaders, is a show of both unity and faith for clergy who refuse to give up on the hope that reform legislation will pass this year in spite of Republican resistance.

"Even if we have different political sensibilities, we are united around this cause," said Jim Wallis, president of Sojourners and a leader of the Evangelical Immigration Table.

In addition to the letter, the religious leaders plan to take their message to the pulpit this weekend, asking churchgoers to call congressional members and demand passage of a broad immigration law.

The program is being organized by the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which boasts a membership of 34,200 churches and 16 million members.

Although Catholics have long been involved in immigration reform, Pew Research Center polls show that Evangelical Christians have traditionally supported Republicans. However, Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, says that more evangelicals have joined the movement in recent years.

According to him, older evangelicals may back the GOP, but Republicans risk alienating younger religious voters. "These young voters, who are increasingly concerned about justice issues, are the activists," he said.

While some lawmakers don't have to worry about retaining Latino votes in November, they may have to answer to evangelicals who consider immigration reform a moral issue, Anderson added.

Last summer, the Senate passed a bipartisan immigration bill that included a pathway to citizenship for the 11.7 million undocumented residents who currently live in the U.S. However, House Speaker John Boehner refused to bring the bill up for a vote.

Last month, it seemed like the GOP leaders were planning to take action on immigration after Speaker Boehner released a set of principles that offered undocumented residents a pathway to legalization. However, less than a week later, the GOP backpedaled on their commitment to fix the broken immigration system because they said they don't believe President Obama would carry out all elements of a new law.

"Right now, there is widespread doubt about whether this administration can be trusted to enforce our laws, and it is going to be difficult to move any immigration legislation until that changes," said a Boehner's spokesperson, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The abrupt change in discourse angered many evangelicals, particularly Latinos, said Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition. "The right thing to do was sacrificed on the altar of political expediency."

"You really gave us hope, and then you took it away," added Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference. "The frustration-it is no longer simmering, but it's boiling over. The consequences are both moral and political."