U.S. Rep. Trey Radel, R-Fort Myers, has been on a listening and workplace tour this week.

He stopped by Edison College on Wednesday to talk about health care, Lake Okeechobee, the struggle to pass this year’s farm bill—and where immigration reform stands.

Pastor Rusty May from Messiah Lutheran Church in Cape Coral was one of about 200 area residents who attended the listening session in Fort Myers.

He told Radel, who is among a number of conservative House members opposed to the Senate’s comprehensive immigration bill, that much of the religious community believes immigration reform is a moral imperative.

Pastor May said the House’s current strategy of passing individual immigration bills one-by-one is a bad idea.

“My fear is that they will agree on the wealthy people that want to come here for business, but the people who are already here, who need to be welcome out of the shadows, they are going to be forgotten, unless we do this in a comprehensive way,” May explained.

Radel said his biggest concern is border security. He said that needs to be taken care of first.

Radel also said he is confident the House’s plan will yield results.

“I think we can have success with bipartisan support by simply doing it piece by piece, step by step, and allowing the American people to see what we are doing,” he said.

Democratic leadership in the Senate has said they will not cooperate unless House Republicans take up a comprehensive bill.