Thread: Church envoy studies immigration

Church envoy studies immigration
Denomination sends lawyer to Hazleton at presbytery's request.
By Chris Parker | Of The Morning Call
November 13, 2007
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Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Fark Google Newsvine Reddit Yahoo Print Single page view Reprints Reader feedback Text size: HAZLETON | - Julia A. Thorne, an immigration lawyer for the national Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), strolled down Wyoming Street on Friday, peeking in on small grocery stores with specials printed on the windows, an income tax preparer who listed his services and a tiny restaurant that displayed its name -- all in Spanish.

Thorne, whose denomination is based in Louisville, Ky., and represents 2.3 million members in more than 10,000 congregations nationwide, was visiting to learn as much as she could about immigrants in Hazleton -- the epicenter of a storm of controversy whipped up by its 2006 law against renting to illegal immigrants or hiring them.

The law, proposed by Mayor Lou Barletta, who won re-election by a wide margin last week, has since been struck down by a federal judge as unconstitutional.




''I'm interested to see how has immigration really hurt this place,'' she said. ''What the town is saying is that immigration has been the bane of their existence, that this is a horrible thing that is happening. OK, show me the hurt. What's wrong? What's going on here that is so terrible?''

Thorne -- who said she made the visit at the request of the church's Lehigh Presbytery, the ruling body that covers 35 churches with 11,398 members in Lehigh, Schuylkill, Carbon, Luzerne, Monroe, Northampton and Berks counties -- said she'll use what she learns to further educate church officials and members on the issue.

"There are 171 presbyteries in the United States," she said. "In the little over two years that I've been employed by the church, I've had phone calls from 125 of them. All over the United States, immigration is happening, and immigration issues are affecting the churches and the communities."

The Hazleton visit lasted just a few hours. Thorne looked at the area and listened to residents and others, but gave no opinions about her observations.

In 2006, the church General Assembly reaffirmed a 2004 resolution calling for a "comprehensive legalization program for immigrants living and working" in the United States.

On Friday, Thorne was accompanied by the Rev. Phil Sanders of First Presbyterian Church of Hazleton and Steven H. Shussett of the Lehigh Presbytery as she toured a largely Hispanic business district along Wyoming Street, a few blocks from Holy Trinity Slovak Church.

The small group paused as they spotted the Hazleton Historical Society Museum. Next to it was a Hispanic grocery.

"That pretty much sums up the situation," Shussett said.

Sanders said he had spoken with Hispanic leaders about Thorne's visit. They were enthusiastic about the tour, he said, but could not attend because of work obligations. Hispanic residents, he said, may have been too fearful to come forward and tell their stories.

Sanders said he has made contact with a nearby Hispanic church in hopes of learning more about the culture, but several attempts to arrange meetings failed.

Barletta said he would welcome Thorne and other church officials to have a sit-down. Thorne said any meetings with the mayor would be up to the Lehigh Presbytery to initiate.

"I would hope that she would learn that Hazleton is a welcoming city," Barletta said Thursday. "Unlike what some people may feel, as far as the new [legal] immigrants are concerned, it continues to grow. More Latinos are moving to Hazleton to make it their home -- that wouldn't happen if it wasn't a welcoming city.

"The problem is whether they are coming legally or not."

Barletta said that many of Hazleton's Hispanics support what he's doing. "They have come here legally and they don't want their children recruited by gangs," he said.

Shussett said the Presbytery has been "intentional about not making plans with the mayor. This is a fact-finding mission for Julia about Hazleton. This is a chance for the Presbytery to learn about the situation. Julia will be a catalyst for discussion on the issue."

http://www.mcall.com/news/local/all-b1_ ... 8901.story

Separation of church and state.. you got money to pay for a lawyer ... you need to be taxed for every penny going into the church

Exactly but they want to have it both ways.