Thread: CLEVELAND,TN CHURCH OF GOD AIDING & ABETTING ILLEGALS

The International Headquarters for the Church of God is in Cleveland, Tennessee. As the latest article in The Bradley News states the Church of God, its churches, missionaries and its associates have assisted illegal aliens coming to Tennessee, to Cleveland, Tennessee and Bradley County.

The Church of God is aiding and abetting illegal aliens from the actions and words of Berta Vega, her husband who is pastor of the International Worship Center on Central Avenue, the Church of God Publication Dept. for Hispanics, etc.

The Bradley News has gone back to softballing the issue and allowing the sympathizers and lawbreakers the biggest voice.

Special Report: Illegal Invasion

by B. Jay Johnson

Two Sides To Every Story

Berta Vega is living the American dream. Originally from Chile, she now lives in Cleveland. Berta came to Bradley County in 1984 and enrolled at Lee University. More than two decades later, Vega devotes a huge portion of her life to helping improve the lives of others - especially undocumented people who arrive in the Tennessee Valley from Central and Latin America.


Vega is the assistant to the editor of a Latin publication called Editorial Evangelica. It is published by the Church of God's Department of Hispanic Ministries. "Our goal is to help them become better citizens," says Vega. She is referring to the thousands of illegal aliens who are pouring into southeast Tennessee. Vega says she prefers to call them undocumented immigrants or undocumented people, but authorities within the Department of Homeland Security call them illegal aliens. Regardless of what you choose to call them, the surge in the illegal alien population is rising, and with it, so is the controversy over what do about it.

Berta Vega says religion can and is playing an important role in helping people educate themselves about the immigration issue. Berta's husband is the pastor of the International Worship Center on Central Avenue in Cleveland. She says the church has a congregation of about 250 and that the church's members represent 21 countries. "We try to deal with the issue the way a Christian should," says Vega, "We do not feel it is our place to condemn or oppress." Vega, however, does acknowledge the problem is a serious one. Vega tells the Bradley News that one of the unfortunate realities regarding the battle over immigration is the way in which Americans stereotype Hispanic people. She says a large number of Hispanics in Bradley County are legal citizens, but they are not always treated as such. "A lot of people seem to think that illegal aliens are bad people," says Vega, "and they're really not." She admits that tougher laws need to be enacted to deport illegal aliens who commit crimes. She also believes that immigration laws in general need to be strengthened and more consistent. "Becoming a legal citizen of this country is a very long and drawn out process," says Vega. In fact, she refers to one case in which an Hispanic woman married an American man. Ten years later, the woman is still waiting for her legal status to be approved. "All it takes sometimes is to have just one piece of paper missing from a file," says Vega, " that can set the process back for months." Vega says that in other cases, immigrants are granted citizenship in as few as two to three years.

Chattanooga attorney David Elliott specializes in Immigration law. He agrees with Berta Vega that many illegal aliens are hard workers who are very religious and respectful of our society and our cultures. Elliott says the first wave of illegal aliens arriving in Bradley County was church related. He says that during the 1980's and 1990's, many illegal aliens came into the area to attend religious conventions. He says they were invited by missionaries who had worked in Central America. "Many of them stayed and have since become Americanized," he says. Elliott deals with immigration predominantly from a business perspective. His clients fall into one of two categories. Elliott represents employers who want to hire aliens to do jobs that have been turned down by U.S. citizens. He also works with foreign investors who want to come here and create more jobs. "They do provide a benefit to the extent they are accepting employment that other American citizens wont' accept," says Ellliott. Elliott says that in Bradley County and in neighborhing McMinn County, the illegal aliens are drawn to construction or farming jobs. Elliott says many construction jobs require workers to sqeeze into dark basements, attics and crawl spaces. "This is not anything anyone is looking to do," says Elliott, "but the illegal workers are just happy to have a job." This appears to be at the very core of the immigration problem. The illegal workers are needed and they are also paid lower wages. This makes the hiring of illegal aliens attractive for local companies.

On July 1, sweeping immigration legislation goes into effect just south of us in Georgia. Georgia is cracking down on the illegal alien problem by cutting off the social services provided to illegals. Experts predict the illegal aliens in Georgia will just travel north on I-75 and move into Hamilton and Bradley Counties. Are we ready for this new wave of immigrants? Next week, The Bradley News will continue to examine the impact of illegal immigration here in southeast Tennessee. We hope you'll check out part three coming up next Wednesday.

http://www.bradleyweekly.com/news.cfm?id=5111

http://www.churchofgod.cc/

Church of God International Offices
2490 Keith Street, P.O. Box 2430, Cleveland, Tennessee 37320-2430
Phone: (423) 472-3361
Fax: (423) 478-7066

The Department of Hispanic Ministries was created to respond to the fast growing needs of the Church of God Hispanic membership. The Hispanic/Latino segment within the denomination is the fastest growing in the United States, Canada and also Latin America, including the Hispanic Caribbean. As an agency of service, it coordinates the efforts of various Church of God agencies that provide ministries and personal resources to all the local congregations of the Spanish speaking world.

http://www.editorialevangelica.org/hisp ... stries.htm