"Christians shouldn't be targeted for deportation simply because of their beliefs," Kiska stated. "None of the preconditions for lawful deportation under Moroccan law was met by the government officials in this case.
"It is vital that no precedent be set that will lead to more human-rights violations of this sort, where Christian volunteers can be mass-expelled simply because they are Christian," he said.
The commission, chaired now by Rep. James McGovern, D-Mass., will hear testimony about the deportations of an estimated 40 American citizens and scores of residents of other nations who operated a wide range of humanitarian organizations.
The staff of Village of Hope, which took in orphans abandoned by their parents, was stricken by the deportation orders that arrived on its doorstep severalweeks ago. Moroccan reports confirm the facility now is shuttered.
"Many people are watching Morocco," said Kiska. "If these deportations are allowed to stand, then no Christian is safe."
Among the scheduled witnesses are Herman Boonstra, director of Village of Hope, and Eddie and Lynn Padilla, foster parents with the organization.
Analyst Aidan Clay of International Christian Concern said the North African nation's deportations in several waves in March may have been ordered because of concern that Muslims may have seen an opportunity to leave Islam.
Morocco historically has been considered a moderate Muslim nation, but Clay said its moves went "way beyond anti-proselytizing."
"It's basically anti-conversion. The thinking there is if there is no proselytizing, no one will convert from Islam," Clay explained. "But upholding these laws directly violates the fundamental religious freedoms of the Moroccan people."
Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., has made issues of human rights and human trafficking part of his concern.
Speaking on the House floor recently, he called on the Moroccan government to live up to its stated commitment to religious freedom.
"I call on the government of Morocco to uphold its commitment to the principles of religious tolerance and freedom that, for so long, made it a model of tolerance and modernity in the Arab world," he said.
During the March crackdown, dozens of Christian orphanage workers, business leaders, teachers and others were told their visas were canceled.
A witness to the crackdown, who asked to be identified as Brother D, told WND at that time believers were being detained in several cities, and some of them had spent overnight in jails.
Christian work has been ongoing in Morocco for nearly 100 years, a nation under Islamic influences for more than 1,000 years.
According to a report from Mission Network News, the deportation move had been building for weeks.
In the report, Todd Nettleton of Voice of the Martyrs said Morocco's new minister of justice, Mohamed Naciri, was believed to be responsible for the crackdown.
"It's unclear if simply this new minister of justice is a more devout or more radical Muslim and wants to come against the apostasy movement, encouraging Muslims to leave Islam and follow Jesus Christ, and we just don't know that much about the why right now," he told Mission Network News.
Officials at the Moroccan Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not respond to a WND e-mail requesting comment.
Morocco has been dominated by Islamic interests since the 600s, when Arab Muslims moved into the region. In 711, the Berber chief, Tariq Iban Zyad, arrived in conquest of the area. Shortly later, Muslim control was consolidated.
The constitution provides for a monarchy with a parliament and an independent judiciary.
The embassy website boasts that King Mohammed VI is directly descended from Islam's prophet, Muhammad, through his daughter Lalla Fatima Zohra.
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