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  1. #1
    Senior Member MontereySherry's Avatar
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    New approach by conservatives on immigration?

    New approach by conservatives on immigration?

    By Ali Noorani, Special to CNN
    updated 12:11 PM EST, Mon February 27, 2012


    Hundreds of people wait to pass from Mexico into the U.S. at the border crossing at Nogales, Arizona, on December 10, 2010.

    STORY HIGHLIGHTS
    • Evangelical students, pastors, faith leaders gathered for conference on immigration
    • Ali Noorani says discourse was reasonable and respectful
    • Leaders saw responsibility to feed the hungry without regard to immigration status, he says
    • Noorani: Americans want reasonable, humane solutions to immigration problems
    Editor's note: Ali Noorani is executive director of the National Immigration Forum Action Fund, an organization based in Washington that advocates for the value of immigrants and immigration to the nation.
    (CNN) -- If you think all conservatives support a deportation-only approach to immigration, think again. Last week, hundreds of conservative evangelicals gathered in Alabama to engage in a reasonable, respectful discourse on immigration.
    You read that right. Less than a year after Alabama enacted the strictest immigration law in the land, evangelical students, pastors and national faith leaders gathered at Samford University in Birmingham for "a Christ-centered conversation on immigration" called the G92 South Immigration Conference.
    Following the example of Cedarville University's inaugural G92 gathering last fall in Ohio, evangelical Christians gathered in Birmingham to discuss immigration through the prism of the Bible. Instead of listening to partisan sound bites, participants looked to the word of God -- specifically the 92 references to "ger," the word for "stranger," in the Old Testament alone.
    Ali Noorani
    Calls for humanity and compassion came from national and local evangelicals who recognize the law's devastating effects.
    Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said, "As Christians, we have a responsibility to obey the rule of law, not to enforce the law. And, as citizens of heaven, we also have a responsibility to feed those who are hungry without asking them for [their] immigration status."
    He is right. Policymakers' misguided race to the bottom on immigration has also affected faith leaders' ability to minister to all of God's children, regardless of immigration status.
    And, the economic impact to the state has been dramatic. The Alabama law, HB56, resulted in some crops rotting on the vine and police arresting a visiting executive of a multinational car manufacturer with a new plant in the state. Now, economists forecast that the law will cost the Alabama economy billions of dollars.
    Closing the event, Dr. Michael Wesley Sr., of the Greater Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Birmingham, reflected on the nation's ongoing struggle for civil rights: "America is a land of opportunity. And, if done correctly, it can be a land of opportunity for all of God's children."
    A fundamental shift is occurring among conservatives toward a new consensus on immigrants and America. These are the early steps in a march by Americans of all political stripes fed up with partisan attacks on immigrants and immigration -- a groundswell ready and willing to skewer political extremism from either side of the aisle.
    The conference in Alabama was a quest for spiritual guidance to forge a path forward on immigration reform. Contrast that with a meeting of another group of conservatives, about 1,500 miles to the west.
    Ahead of this week's primaries in Arizona and Michigan, the four Republican candidates for president "debated" immigration by choosing the same path: political expedience and division over practical, humane immigration solutions.
    In Mesa, Arizona, around the birthplace of that state's own anti-immigrant law, SB1070, the candidates were quick to endorse the family-separating tactics of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and call for the building of (double) walls at our borders.
    The candidates' only hint of compassion was Rick Santorum's suggestion that he would not require individual homeowners to verify the legal status of their domestic help. In other words, undocumented immigrants can care for our children, do our laundry and mow our lawns, but we will do nothing to keep their families together or provide a way for them to emerge from the shadows.
    Ignoring the economic and social value of immigrants and immigration to our nation, the GOP candidates' strategy is to tap into the fear and unease of our constantly changing society. Rather than work toward a political consensus on immigrants and America, they would rather implement unjust immigration laws that separate families, cost tens of billions of dollars every year and undermine American workers by pushing immigrants further underground.
    The Republican candidates for president are stuck in reverse. Instead of treating immigration like other important conservative issues and actively seeking to change the law, they trumpet fantasies such as self-deportation and fail to lead America forward.
    Their race to the margins runs the risk of pushing conservative Americans away. They're missing an opportunity, as the events in Ohio and Alabama make clear.
    Times are changing. Americans want reasonable, humane solutions for our nation's immigration system. It is time the GOP offered them.
    New approach by conservatives on immigration? - CNN.com

  2. #2
    Junior Member RPaul69's Avatar
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    Ali Noorani must also be a complete "meathead". This entire article spoke of Immigration. Conservatives have nothing against Immigration Ali Noorani, it is ILLEGAL Immigration that we are against. You know...law breakers, border runners those kind??? Wake up you Liberal meathead and speak true and about something you know about for a change. If you want to talk Immigration, go for it. But if you want to speak about ILLEGAL Immigration, we will get in on the conversation.

  3. #3
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    I do not believe that this was an "Alabama" conference, it was held in Alabama for impact and to be carried by MSM as story on Alabama immigation. Total manipulation and sensationalism by the open borders MSM.


    Event registration for G92 South Immigration Conference powered by Eventbrite



    3 weeks ago




    Speakers




    3 weeks ago




    Mission Statement

    Last October, hundreds gathered in Ohio at Cedarville University for the G92 Immigration Conference to equip a new generation of leaders to respond to immigration issues in a biblical way. Instead of listening to partisan sound bites, conference speakers and attendees looked to the Word of God – and specifically the 92 references to immigration or “the stranger” in the Old Testament alone.
    Throughout the Southeast, state-based immigration bills have been signed into law over the past two years, and there are more planned for the future. As in Cedarville, students, pastors and national evangelical leaders will gather to look to the Word of God for guidance on immigration issues as they play out across the region.
    On February 23, 2012, Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama will follow Cedarville’s lead and host the G92 South Immigration Conference. The gathering will look to promote a national and local level conversation about immigration in a way that honors the example of Jesus Christ and the written Word of God.






    Agenda




    G92 South Immigration Conference at Samford University

    Cost: General Conference Registration 0.00

    Pastor Lunch 0.00

    Student Lunch 0.00

    Pastor & Student Dinner 0.00

    Evening Event: Public Forum on Immigration and Evangelicals 0.00

    Media: General 0.00

    Media: Would like to interview speakers 0.00



    Last October, hundreds gathered in Ohio at Cedarville University for the G92 Immigration Conference to equip a new generation of leaders to respond to immigration issues in a biblical way. Instead of listening to partisan sound bites, conference speakers and attendees looked to the Word of God - and specifically the 92 references to immigration or "the stranger" in the Old Testament alone.


    Throughout the Southeast, state-based immigration bills have been signed into law over the past two years, and there are more planned for the future. As in Cedarville, students, pastors and national evangelical leaders will gather to look to the Word of God for guidance on immigration issues as they play out across the region.


    On February 23, 2012, Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama will follow Cedarville's lead and host the G92 South Immigration Conference. The gathering will look to promote a national and local level conversation about immigration in a way that honors the example of Jesus Christ and the written Word of God.

    Student Track

    10AM-10:45AM: Student Convocation

    Speaker: Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang (World Relief, co-authors of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate IVP 2009)

    11:00AM-12:00PM
    Session One
    Speaker: Rev. Gabriel Salguero, President of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition
    12:00PM-1:00PM: Student Lunch
    Extended discussion with Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang

    1:30PM-3:00PM: Session Two

    Undocumented. TV video & stories from peers - panel of local students

    3:30PM-5:00PM: Session Thre
    e
    "Engaging Effectively" with Kristen Bruce & Lisa Sharon Harper, Sojourners' Director of Mobilizing

    5:00PM-6:00PM: Dinner

    Speaker: Mayor Paul Bridges

    9:00PM-10:30PM: Film Screening: "A Better Life"

    Pastor Track

    11:00AM-12:00PM Pre-Session: "Immigration and Alabama: Why Should I Care?"

    Speaker: David Smolin, Cumberland College of Law, Samford University

    12:00PM-1:00PM
    Lunch
    Speaker: Gabriel Salguero, President of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition

    1:30PM-2:30PM: Session One: Scriptural Focus

    Speakers: Dr. Osvaldo Padilla, Beeson Divinity School

    2:45PM-3:45PM: Session Two: National Focus

    Speaker: Dr. Richard Land, President of Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

    4:00PM-5:00PM: Session Three: Local Focus

    Panel of local pastors (Including Dr. John Killian, Maytown Baptist Church) moderated by Noel Castellanos, President and CEO of Christian Community Development Association and time of intentional prayer for local Hispanic pastors

    5:00PM-6:00PM: Dinner

    Speaker: Mayor Paul Bridges

    Evening Event

    7:00PM-7:45PM Public Forum on Immigration and Evangelicals
    Speaker: Dr. Richard Land

    7:45PM-8:45PM Response from Local Pastors
    Moderator: Noel Castellanos
    G92 Immigration Conference
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  4. #4
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    I prefer this opinion. The Federal Judge that removed the 10 commandments was Myron Thompson. This is the same Judge that has blocked part of the Alabama immigration law and openly called Republcans "racist" He was appointed by Jimmy Carter.

    Immigration and Christian duty

    Published: 06/20/2007 at 1:00 AM

    by Judge Roy MooreEmail | Archive
    Judge Roy Moore is the chairman of the Foundation for Moral Law in Montgomery, Ala. He is the former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court who was removed from office in 2003 for refusing to remove a Ten Commandments monument he had placed in the Alabama Judicial Building to acknowledge God. Moore's classic book about his battle for liberty is now available in paperback: "So Help Me God: The TenMore ↓Less ↑



    Just last week a reporter covering the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention asked me about the debate in the Christian community over the treatment of illegal immigrants: should we demonstrate Christian love and concern for their salvation or should we oppose amnesty legislation and enforce the immigration laws? The answer is yes – we can and should do both.

    America is a nation of immigrants. From the beginning, people have come here for freedom and prosperity. As early as 1783, George Washington wisely explained the privileges and duties of those seeking to become citizens of our Country:
    The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment. (Emphasis added.)

    The Statue of Liberty still beckons from the New York Harbor, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” We should never turn our backs to those who show by their “decency and propriety of conduct” that they deserve to live here as an American citizen. But as Washington explained, citizenship entails not only the rights and privileges which flow from it, but also the duties and responsibilities which entitle an individual to its enjoyment.

    Immigration is the legal means by which one becomes a citizen of the United States. It has historically required an application process for citizenship, including a test, an investigation, and an oath of allegiance to our Country and Constitution. To call those illegally residing here “immigrants” is an insult to those who have demonstrated the patience, responsibility, and fortitude to immigrate here legally.

    When a person – from any country – enters our Country illegally, makes no application for citizenship, does not learn our language, does not care for our customs, and seeks only the benefits of living in America, they have not “immigrated” here at all. They are not “immigrants,” but rather, “illegal aliens.” Recent “May Day” demonstrations by illegal aliens that feature Mexican flags, anti-American slogans, and racist statements against “gringos” only confirm the intentions of many illegal aliens to not assimilate into our culture and way of life, but to displace it with their own. Their lack of “decency and propriety of conduct” show they neither desire nor deserve to be legal citizens.


    Nevertheless, regardless of a person’s status as immigrant or illegal alien, the Bible does say in Leviticus 19 that one should “love [the stranger] as thyself” and should not mistreat him. Leviticus 24:22 states that the same law shall apply “for the stranger, as for one of your own country.” Deuteronomy 27:19 warns that “Cursed be he that perverteth the judgment of the stranger.”


    As Christians we are always to be concerned for the salvation and wellbeing of others, regardless of their citizenship. Justice requires that the laws be applied equally to citizens and aliens alike. Neither is to be treated unfairly or given special treatment. But because illegal aliens are not citizens, they do not enjoy the protection of regulations pertaining to such things as wage, labor, and housing. On the other hand, although they often pay little or no taxes, they receive the benefits of government welfare, health care, and education paid for by lawful taxpayers.


    Nor are our immigration laws being applied equally. Illegal aliens from Central and South America are given special treatment when their presence here is excused, while those from other parts of the world suffer years of waiting and mountains of red tape to obtain American citizenship. Many legal immigrants are fleeing religious persecution, political oppression, or even civil war. Those who propose amnesty are actually rewarding and encouraging unlawful behavior by those who get here by simply crossing a river, a desert, or a dusty road just to seek a job.


    Unfortunately, too many Christians have been deceived to think that our duty to love and care for illegal aliens means that we should ignore immigration laws and disregard our borders. But as President Ronald Reagan once said, “A nation without borders is not a nation.” Our borders are compromised by illegal immigration, infiltration of terrorists, and by government policies of regional partnership that actually dilute the sovereignty of the United States. The choice is not between our Christian duty and our border laws – it’s a matter of life or death for our nation.


    The same God who commands that we treat aliens and “strangers” with righteousness and justice also clearly defined the physical borders for the nation of Israel, in detailed geographical terms, in Numbers 34. Israel, then and today, would not exist without borders?and neither will America.


    We should love and care for “the stranger among us” and always be mindful of their need for salvation. But we also have a duty to apply all laws equally and fairly without regard to race, creed, color, or national origin. Our immigration laws must be strictly and justly enforced. It’s not only a matter of national survival – it’s our Christian duty.

    Immigration and Christian duty

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