Moral Dillema: Immigration law poses trouble for churches


Updated: 6/28 10:25 pm
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) - Many churches are concerned that Alabama's new immigration law could create legal hurdles to carrying out their mission activities.

"This isn't a political issue for us. It's not an economic issue. It's a religious issue," said Matt Lacey of Highlands United Methodist Church. "After the bill was signed into law a lot of ministers got together and said there are certain elements of this law which we felt were going against the gospel."

Pastor R. G. Lyons of the Church Without Walls says there are large immigrant congregations throughout the state. The new immigration law defines some of their mission work as criminal activity.

"It criminalizes providing transportation, assisting them, harboring them in any way. Well, many of our churches do things like provide food to people, clothing shelter, transportation to and from jobs to and from places where they need to go. And we don't check people's immigration status before we do that. you know we believe that we're called to serve everybody and so we don't want our churches and people within our churches to have to choose between obeying the law and being in ministry," said Lyons.

From the opposite perspective, some feel that the amount of debate sparked by the bill is a positive development.

"And it brings about me as a citizen to be more vocal as well as more informed," said Kenneth King.



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