Thread: Evangelical leader calls for kinder, gentler immigration law

USA Today
Feb 10, 2010
Evangelical leader calls for kinder, gentler immigration laws

Galen Carey of the National Association of Evangelicals called for Congress to "pass meaningful immigration reform this year" today in a conference call with other faith leaders. Members of the group said they are trying to create a grassroots, church-based movement to press for passage of legislation.

"The Catholic Church and all its sister organizations will step up our efforts to educate across the economic and political divide," said Father Jon Pedigo, pastor of St. Julie Billiart parish in San Jose.

Also joining the phone call: Reps. Mike Honda, D-Calif., and Yvette Clark, D-N.Y., both of whom expressed hope that President Obama's call for a new immigration bill would help break the logjam in Congress.

All of the religious leaders expressed concerns about raids and deportations that are tearing apart families in their communities.

Several weeks ago, a traffic stop set up near his parish by law enforcement authorities kept some parents from picking up their children from school, "leaving lots of frightened kids standing outside in the rain," Pedigo said. The type of changes the religious leaders said they would like to see sounded a lot like those proposed in a Senate bill that collapsed three years ago. It would have given illegal immigrants with clean records a chance to stay in the USA and become citizens.

The legislation had the support of then-president George W. Bush as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. But there was vocal opposition on the right, led by TV commentator Lou Dobbs. This year immigration has to compete with a number of other major measures, including health care and jobs legislation. Democratic leaders say they want a new immigration bill but neither Reid nor House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is moving to put it on the legislative calendar anytime soon.

Update, 1:45 p.m.: Kevin Appleby, director of Migration Policy for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, tells us the outlook is better in the Senate this year because there are more Democratic members than in 2007. He estimates that the support of six or seven Republicans to guarantee passage and wonders why neither party seems to be trying to grab a golden political opportunity.

"The growing Latino vote is up for grabs and immigration reform is one key to getting their support," Appleby wrote in an email. "Neither party seems to want them. "

Among the methods the National Association of Evangelicals is using to change attitudes: Bible study. "When people have the opportunity to study the Bible, we see it transforming our views toward immigrants," said Carey. He believes the scripture's message on immigration is clear:

"We see we are called to love the stranger," Carey said. "We pray our country will have the courage and do it now."

http://content.usatoday.com/communities ... ion-laws/1

Sometimes I wonder if hard, economic costs, mean anything to extremely religious people. I've met some who claim God is going to work everything out anyway...??

But since the costs of living in the countries where our present immigrants are coming from are far, far lower than in the US, what is the economic benefit to accommodating a rapidly swelling population? If it costs ten million dollars to build a road here, it would cost only one million in Latin America. If it costs five million to build a clinic or hospitals it would cost less than one million in Africa....Or perhaps far less, since people routinely labor for a few dollars a day, unlike our public US "prevailing wage jobs" where you frequently wonder what people are accomplishing at a billed rate of $500 per day.

A mission I have contributed to recently told me they performed a cataract surgery at their clinic in Guatemala. Cost to the patient: 15 dollars.

I wish we could get prices like that! Since we have been training the world's physicians and other experts for the last several decades why can't they take care of their own people?

A mission I have contributed to recently told me they performed a cataract surgery at their clinic in Guatemala. Cost to the patient: 15 dollars.

So why didn't the reporter ask him why not support these people in their own countries? Certainly a lot cheaper than trying to live here and bring down our standard of living and destroy the fabric of our society.

All of the religious leaders expressed concerns about raids and deportations that are tearing apart families in their communities.

These people just like the government think only of the illegal aliens in our country.
I don't hear them talking about the American families who have had a family member murdered by illegals, the rape and molestation of our children or the price the American taxpayers are paying for them to be here. No thought about what the millions of them are doing to our Culture or the very fabric of our country.

There is NO need to ask families to remain separated for long periods of time. Of course it can be corrected very easily by the families re-uniting in their Home Countries!

Our FAMILIES are at the mercy of ILLEGALS and their Anchors being murdered, raped, infected with disease, or robbed. We can see the results of the ILLEGAL invasion in our courts every day! But NOT to worry the Chamber of Commerce will get their cheap labor increasing their privatized PROFITS while socializing the benefits for their ILLEGALS on the back of U. S. Citizens, thanks to our past and current Presidents, the Congressional Leadership(?), and local elected and appointed officials! Not to mention that the hierarchy of the church will increase their power.