Thread: Religious leaders say obligation to help trumps immigration

http://www.omaha.com/index.php?u_page=2 ... id=2342383

Religious leaders say obligation to help trumps immigration laws
BY CINDY GONZALEZ
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER


SCHUYLER, Neb. - The Rev. Rudy De Leon got a surprise visit at his home last month from federal agents who warned him about harboring illegal immigrants.

The Rev. Rudy De Leon of Schuyler, Neb., said federal agents kicked in this door in his home during a search for illegal immigrants. De Leon said he will continue to rent rooms to people regardless of their legal status.The next day, agents stopped the Pentecostal preacher's church-bound van and demanded proof of legal residency from everyone inside. Two passengers who couldn't produce any were arrested.

Fear for others in his 150-family church led De Leon to briefly close Dios es Amor, God Is Love. But he said he has reopened with an even stronger resolve to aid the downtrodden - regardless of their legal status.

"I have to continue what the Lord says: Help the people in need," said De Leon, who has lived legally in Schuyler for nine years.

The Guatemala-born minister is among the religious leaders stepping beyond traditional spiritual roles to resist the federal government's latest enforcement tactic, which sends immigration agents to homes as well as work sites.

De Leon, 42, said he won't start requiring legal documentation of newcomers seeking to rent rooms at his house. He has, however, started giving immigrants fliers outlining their rights.

And he told his story to Hispanic leaders, who continue to talk about law enforcement stops and searches on local Spanish radio.

To be sure, not all clergy or community leaders have joined the outcry. The mayor and police chief in Schuyler supported the four-day Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation that resulted in the arrest of 20 illegal immigrants.

Said Mayor David Reinecke: "I'm not going to tell the federal government, 'You can't come here and do the job you are supposed to do.'"

He said he appreciates the contributions of immigrants, but he agreed with the police chief's decision to lend assistance to visiting immigration agents. "That's a no-brainer," Reinecke said.

Clergy who criticize the federal bureau's more aggressive enforcement tactics said Judeo-Christian principles trump immigration laws.

They are working with national religious groups in a push for Congress to revise laws that would let many of the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the country stay.

Meanwhile, resistance to current policies has surfaced in various ways.

In Seattle, for example, an Episcopal official and a Catholic bishop threatened to offer sanctuary, or refuge, to undocumented families if the government continues to raid workplaces without reforming immigration policy.

In Grand Island, a group of ministers is mobilizing Hispanics politically.

The interdenominational coalition was formed after the December raid of a Swift meatpacking plant netted 261 undocumented workers. The raid also led to a community forum where Catholic Bishop William Dendinger of Grand Island offered support to affected families.

In south Omaha, the Rev. Carl Zoucha used the Sunday bulletin to alert churchgoers that federal agents had gone to a parish leader's house to arrest and deport him.

The father of six at the home had been under a court order to leave. Agents later tracked down the man's wife and a daughter. "I don't know if this is the start of a series of raids," Zoucha wrote.

A few weeks earlier, Zoucha, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe and St. Agnes Churches, was part of an interfaith group that publicly called for a moratorium on immigration raids and reform of immigration laws. Among the event's speakers was the Rev. Joe Burnett, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska, and a representative of the United Methodist Church.

Zoucha said he and other clergy recognize the country's right and need to protect its borders and interests.

"On the other hand, through God's word, anyone that has more than what they really need is called to share with others. Jesus teaches us to welcome the stranger."

Maria Teresa Gaston, director of the Center for Service and Justice at Creighton University, said the concept of civil disobedience among men and women of the cloth goes back decades.

Clergy often lead peaceful protests against war and nuclear arms at the Strategic Command headquarters in Bellevue. Civil disobedience also played a part in ending legal segregation in the United States and in protesting the Vietnam War.

The sanctuary option raised by Seattle clergy would be akin to a movement in the 1980s in which churches provided refuge to Central Americans fleeing war and seeking asylum in the United States.

"There have been different times in history that the church needed to stand up prophetically," Gaston said.

She said Creighton students will participate in a Good Friday prayer walk sponsored by the Omaha Catholic Archdiocese that will highlight the plight of illegal immigrants.

The archdiocese also is spearheading a campaign to educate churchgoers in its 23-county service area about social teachings related to immigrants.

Luis Lucar, a Peruvian immigrant and Schuyler businessman, said the federal agents' movement into neighborhoods also upset many Colfax County families who are in the country legally.

Eulogio Olivo-Rivera, director of the Grand Island area's Catholic Hispanic Ministry office, said the matter has become personal because many deported immigrants have friends and ties to their communities.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Tim Counts said the Omaha-based fugitive operations unit, which became fully staffed this year, targets homes of occupants who have defied deportation orders.

But if the agents encounter other illegal immigrants along the way, he said, they'd most likely arrest them, too, he said.

"We have the authority to arrest anyone who is in the country illegally at any location at any time," Counts said.

Of the 20 arrests in the Schuyler and Columbus area, three were known "absconders" who had ignored a court order to leave, Counts said. The rest came to the team's attention and were detained for being in the country illegally.

Two weeks later, the same unit arrested 23 illegal immigrants in Grand Island, Hastings and Lexington. Ten had defied deportation orders.

Since October, Counts said, fugitive operations teams in Nebraska's five-state region - which also includes Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota - have arrested about 500 illegal immigrants.

De Leon said he felt harassed by the Feb. 7 search of his house, which left a doorway broken, and the Feb. 8 traffic stop.

Schuyler Police Chief Lennie Hiltner said two local officers initially went to the pastor's home on another matter: to look for a woman who failed to appear in county court because of a traffic violation.

Immigration agents were summoned later to interpret, the chief said.

While the woman was never found, Counts said, some undocumented immigrants were inside. He did not know why none was arrested.

The next day, different agents on the same federal team stopped De Leon's van, Counts said, because they thought someone inside matched the description of a fugitive they were seeking.

None turned out to be the fugitive, Counts said. Two passengers were detained because they were in the country illegally.

De Leon said anxiety swept his congregation initially, but worship and song have resumed in the church off Highway 30 that Spanish-speaking families built from scratch.

The soft-spoken minister said he respects local officials, but answers first to a higher authority, the Lord.

"I must keep my commitment to help," he said.

Religious leaders, I don't care who they are or what church they come from, are messing around with federal law whenever they actively involve themselves in obstructing immigration enforcement. If churches continue to interfere they should be sued by their congregations and held accountable in a court of law.

Martyrdom may have a place in the advancement of religion but it has no place whatsoever in secular society. Keep the church and state separate as it is written in the U.S. Constitution!

There are numerous scriptures mandating help for the 'sojourner' (foreigner) and those down on their luck. But not many people argue that it goes so far as self harm. Feeding others, yes - but not starving your own children to do it ('he who provides not for his own house denies the faith'), welcoming the stranger, but not every stranger in the world into your house all at once. There are a zillion scriptures that can be cited (or twisted) to argue each side of the immigration debate. To me, that means that the theological argument is anything but clear and the Bible will not decide this. Instead, everyone will be able to quote something to justify his or her opinion. I believe that common sense is a better tool here.

I don't believe anybody outside of Stormfront is saying 'no Mexicans should be allowed to come here.' The US remains one of the most generous and welcoming nations in the world (try emmigrating to Japan, for example). What is the dividing line between help out of our abundance, help that is reasonable but pinches a little, help that harms the giver, and help that destroys the giver. What exactly are we being asked for by LULAC, et. Al.?

It is one thing for someone to decide to risk all and give away everything he has for a cause. But for someone to say that you ought to do that too or else you're bad, then you have to wonder if that is true or just manipulative.

Once again, they're tax-exempt status should be revoked!

This is absolute crap!!! These leaders are basically saying it is ok to break the law. Give me an instance when the Lord broke the law. Even Pilate proclaimed he found no fault in Christ, i.e. he was not guilty of breaking any laws. Not only do the leaders pick and choose the laws they will uphold and respect, but they'll pick and choose which parts of Christ's example and teachings to follow, as well. Shameful!!!

As Christians, we sometimes feel our first obligation is to be kind and loving (1 Cor 13) to the needy alien who is in our midst (or in our face). This ignores the obligation to obey God's laws, and to render to Cæsar that which is Cæsar's, when we love God and our neighbor.

God didn't tell the Good Samaritan to take what belonged to someone else in order to finance his mission of mercy. God didn't tell the Good Samaritan to evict a paid-up occupant at the inn and put the crime victim in his room. God didn't tell the Good Samaritan to write dun letters to the unworthy priest and the uncharitable Levite, requesting their financial assistance for the robbed and beaten man they had ignored. God didn't tell the Good Samaritan to sacrifice obedience in order to show mercy.

At the risk of being painfully blunt, God didn't tell the Good Samaritan to put someone else out of a job in order to give that job to an alien, no matter how needy.

A thief came to the parish priest and confessed, "Padre, I have sinned. My children were hungry, and my faithful wife was sick. So I borrowed someone's chicken without paying for it and made chicken soup for my needy family. Forgive me, and I'll restore the chicken when I have money to buy another one."

The compassionate priest wished to restore the man to grace, so he said, "In the name + of Jesus Christ, I forgive your sin. Go and sin no more."

When the priest went to his chicken coop to prepare his supper, he found his own chicken was gone.

Illegal aliens working for sub-standard wages displace American citizens from their jobs, and the financial ruin from loss of work breaks up many families.

Illegal aliens who do not pay federal taxes, state taxes, Social Security, Workman's Comp, unemployment insurance, (union dues where required,) or health insurance, displace American citizens who MUST have their paychecks reduced by these payments. So the scofflaw employer pays his illegal alien laborer the same $8 an hour that an American citizen would take home, but the U.S. Treasury (that's US!) doesn't get paid. Neither does the state government (that's US!). Neither does Social Security (that's US!). Neither does the health insurance provider, and the illegal alien and his family fall back upon Medicare and Medicaid (that's US!). If Medicare and Medicaid rightfully refuse to pay the illegal alien's healthcare costs, EMTALA requires the hospital to provide emergency room care and Labor & Delivery care without reimbursement. So the hospitals (84 since 1993 in southern California alone) go bankrupt, close their doors, and leave the community without a hospital. That immediately makes the community a less desirable place to live, which slashes property values for the local residents (that's US!) and reduces property tax receipts for the local schools and the students (that's US!). Illegal aliens, 10 or 20 at a time, live in single-family residences, driving down the property values of all property owners in the neighborhood (that's US!) and reducing property tax receipts... but you've heard that before (that's US!).

U.S. Marines root out insurgents and suicide-bomber terrorists in Fallujah for $8.09 an hour, plus benefits. There is no dirtier and more dangerous job in America. There is no job that illegal aliens do that Americans won't do, if the employer is forced to cough up the change. That excuse is just a lousy cover for scofflaw employers who are too cheap to pay legal wages, but greedy enough to stick the taxpayer with the "undocumented costs" of hiring illegal aliens.

Illegal aliens, primarily Latino Catholics, do not support evangelical ministries like Focus on the Family [I wrote this letter to Focus on the Family Action CitizenLink, and they ignored it,] or evangelical churches which might support such evangelical ministries, were the funds available. Illegal aliens displace American workers who do.

Illegal aliens, primarily Latino Catholics, do not support evangelical foreign missions committed to carrying out the Great Commission. Illegal aliens displace American workers who do.

Illegal aliens, primarily Latino Catholics, do not support evangelical home missions which provide homeless shelters, soup kitchens, crisis closets, indigent medical clinics, and other social services which are a safety net for the families of those who have been put out of work in favor of cheap labor. Illegal aliens displace American workers who do.

Illegal aliens from Mexico and some other Latin American countries do not subscribe to American mores, shabby though they may be: specifically, the societal norms about the physical abuse of women, the age of consent, and drunk driving. Illegal aliens displace American workers who acknowledge American values.

Illegal aliens, by their very presence in the U.S., are guilty of illegal entry and therefore violators of U.S. civil regulations. If an illegal alien has been booked and removed from the U.S. before, that illegal alien commits a felony when re-entering the country. Illegal entry, except for the first offense, makes illegal aliens, if convicted, FELONS. Illegal aliens displace American workers, most of whom are not felons.

Illegal aliens, particularly those from El Salvador, Haiti, and Ecuador, bring with them baggage of urban gangs like and <a href=http://www.newswithviews.com/Wooldridge/frosty49.htm>MS-13. The crime of smuggling illegal aliens appears alongside cocaine smuggling, sex trafficking, abducting children for the domestic sex trade or for sale abroad, and kidnapping hostages for ransom. We already have enough problems with crime without importing more.

In Mexico and Latin America, some neighborhoods are armed forts, with bars on the windows, iron gates on the doors, broken glass or razor wire atop the concrete fences, and automatic weapons for self-defense just out of sight. You wouldn't dare let your children play in the street. In fact, you probably wouldn't go out on the street yourself without your armed bodyguard. on <a href=http://michellemalkin.com/archives/004848.htm>March 25th and 26th demonstrated mainly their desire to turn "here" into "there".

The bottom line is that the social costs - for healthcare, education, welfare, law enforcement, and prisons - far outweigh the 4¢ a head we save on lettuce. We taxpayers can't eat enough lettuce to offset the costs of illegal aliens. But for the Chamber of Commerce and the scofflaw business owners whose agents lobby the U.S. Senate, the mantra is, "Privatize profits. Socialize costs."

IT'S AGAINST THE LAW. The last word on the subject is, illegal aliens are . . . ILLEGAL.

MinutemanCDC_SC,

Do you have a link for this article or did you author it yourself?

I am Catholic and have been disgusted with the American Catholic Bishops defense of illegal immigration.

I am convinced they support it for the potential increased money donations. It has NOTHING do with Christian beliefs. The Catholic Church has had reduced donations ever since the sex scandals. Each church in my area offers at least 1 Spanish mass on Sunday and it is always packed. In the English mass, they almost always sneak in a comment like "we need to accept all illegal immigrants".

The fact is that if they really cared about helping the poor, the churches would get off their lazy behinds and start having teams of American make frequent trips to third world countries to spread the word of God, build schools, deliver food, etc. This is what Pope John Paul II did. The churches could easily gather needed materials by holding ONGOING drives within their parish for food, medical supplies and used clothes, eye glasses, and shoes. This wouldn't even cost parishioners anything. Americans collectively throw away millions of used items every year that would still be considered valuable to the poorest of the poor.

I actually approached several Catholic churches in my area about holding just a 1 month eyeglass and shoe drive for the poor in Haiti. I was turned down by every single one. Each time they claimed that if they held these drives their parishioners would donate less money to the church!

So much for their concern for the poor !

It is all about money plain and simple I say take away the tax exempt status of churches if they want to harbor illegal ailens. I bet they would change their tune in a hurry