Religious leaders step up role in immigration reform
BY CINDY CARCAMO
2010-01-04 14:06:56

Many faith-based organizations have traditionally served as a first stop for immigrants -- legal and illegal -- who need help navigating American society.

Church leaders have held prayer vigils and recited lines of Scripture, telling their congregants the Bible preaches compassion for strangers. And they've offered educational and support services, in some cases providing a safe haven for those in the country illegally, and advocated independently for the rights of strangers in a foreign land.

Lately, however, religious leaders across the country have launched a more aggressive movement. On the heels of immigration reform legislation introduced last month, the faith-based movement has become louder and more active in calling for what they describe as a "humane" immigration overhaul.

Leaders from predominantly immigrant churches and mainstream churches – including Costa Mesa and Santa Ana -- are sharing ideas about how best to help non-immigrant congregants better understand and empathize with those in the country illegally. They've taken pilgrimages, circulated petitions and met with decision makers in Washington, D.C.

"If your faith is Biblically based it's not easy to ignore the scripture about welcoming thy neighbor, loving thy enemy," said the Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, a Lutheran pastor who will take part in a nationwide immigration reform vigil scheduled for Jan. 26.

Salvatierra, who oversees the Orange County chapter of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, often travels from Los Angeles to Orange County to set up meetings with religious leaders from immigrant and non-immigrant congregations.

Some, however, are skeptical about how effective this new faith-based push for immigration reform will be, and they question how it will translate from the pulpit to the halls of power in Washington, D.C. A recent report shows a disconnect between active faith leaders and parishioners who may not want to follow. Even some church leaders express conflicting emotions on how far they should take politicking during sermons.

This heightened activism is partly due to the highly publicized immigration workplace enforcement raids that took place across the country during the last presidential administration, said Sam Folwood, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, a liberal Washington, D.C. group.

"When they see it on television ... these raids, I think it affects people," said Folwood, who wrote a report titled "Loving thy Neighbor: Immigration Reform and Communities of Faith." "I think they became aware when they saw what was happening to people in their communities. When they saw the raids or those detained, when they saw families torn apart and children being pulled away."

Those actions sparked an awakening in people of faith who lived in and around those communities and galvanized them to take action, he said.

In 2008, religious groups ranging from Lutherans to Jewish congregations signed an "Interfaith Statement in Support of Comprehensive Immigration Reform."

DIVIDE BETWEEN PULPIT AND PARISHIONERS?

Rabbi Arnold Rachlis, who heads University Synagogue in Irvine, said he's spoken about the issue of immigration -- legal and illegal -- since he first took the helm 18 years ago.

"Nothing defines a Jew more or should define a Jew more than empathy for those in the margins of society ... We know what it's like to be to wander from country to country," Rachlis said.

While he may preach empathy for those in the country illegally, Rachlis said his job is to provide guidance and to educate, not to push his congregants to take a certain political action.

"I think that's inappropriate and in some cases illegal," he said. "I would never from the pulpit endorse a political bill or particular action. I think it's presumptuous... You want to encourage people to know and understand issues. You really leave it up to them to take the action they deem correct."

While some religious leaders may be vocal in pushing for immigration reform, congregants may not necessarily follow, according to a report released last month by the Center for Immigration Studies, an anti-illegal immigration group in Washington, D.C.

"Religious Leaders vs. Members: An Examination of Contrasting Views on Immigration" contends that while national religious leaders lobby for immigration reform, individuals who belong to the same religious communities strongly support reducing overall immigration.

"That's what makes the issue always so contentious," said Steven Camarota, the study's author. "The top people in the church -- as in the unions and in any set of organization you care to name -- and the rank and file have a different perspective."

Religious leaders are possibly out of touch with the struggles of some of their blue-color, lower-skilled parishioners who may be competing with illegal workers for jobs, Camarota said.

"It's a class question,'' he said. "The leadership of these organizations is from the top of the social classes, usually...Most of the people who head these organizations are college-educated, and in a way project from their personal experiences.''

The report's findings were based on a poll conducted by Zogby International, which was commissioned by the center. The poll was conducted in November as an online survey of 42,026 adults, made up of people who described themselves as Catholic, mainline Protestant, born-again Protestant or Jewish. The margin of error is 0.5 percent.

Folwood and some faith leaders, however, took issue with the center's report, saying the questions were designed in a limited fashion, especially when respondents were asked about the cause of the 11 to 12 million people who are believed to be in the country illegally.

Folwood said his report shows that the faith-based immigration reform movement is fueled by congregants.

"So many peoples' faiths are in favor of comprehensive immigration reform," he said. "It's coming from the grassroots that's pushing leadership on the issue."

FROM RHETORIC TO ACTION

Immigrant rights activists are hoping that the non-immigrant faithful with a common belief in compassion will get a new perspective on the immigration issue -- especially about those in the country illegally -- that will compel them into action.

Orange County immigration advocates reached out to religious leaders in immigrant communities in 2007 but it soon became clear that was not effective by itself, said Salvatierra of the Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice.

Ten Orange County congregations, including The Crossing Church in Costa Mesa, have already committed to informal meetings with pastors who lead immigrant churches, such as Templo Calvario in Santa Ana, said Wendy Tarr, a local coordinator with Salvatierra's group.

The organization is looking to launch a ministry that will give non-immigrant congregants the opportunity to visit children who are in immigration detention so they can put a face to the overall immigration issue, she said.

"The point is to expose people to the brokenness of the system they are hearing about," Tarr said.

While congregants may have a better opportunity to see the human face behind those who enter the country illegally, it remains unclear whether they will be compelled to take action.

Shawn Scott, who is on staff at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa, said he didn't think much about the issue of immigration until he served in a ministry that helped tutor low-income children -- some who belonged to immigrant families.

Scott said the ministry helped him put a face to a complex issue but it didn't help him understand it any better.

He's far from calling his representative, demanding immigration reform.

"I can't push for it one way or another," he said. "It's such a deep topic."

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