Thread: Religious Leaders Join Together to Push for DREAM Act

Religious Leaders Join Together to Push for DREAM Act

By Elizabeth Llorente
Published November 22, 2010

Rep. Luis Gutierrez pushes for the DREAM Act in a Brooklyn church.

Immigrants with documents, and those without, occupy every space in the standing-room only gathering.

Civic and religious leaders wait their turn at the microphone to rally support and optimism for the passage of the DREAM Act, which would pave the way for undocumented students to achieve legal immigration status, expected to come for a vote in Congress in the next few weeks.

The event took place in St. Brigid’s Church in Brooklyn on Sunday, and the setting was no coincidence.

Religious leaders and institutions of all faiths are playing an increasingly high-profile role in the fight for comprehensive immigration reform. They are Catholic priests, Protestant ministers, imams, rabbis – many of them Latino – hoping to influence, in a calming, conciliatory way, the upcoming vote in Congress on the DREAM Act.

They are sending emails and letters to their congregants, urging them to call and write to their congressional representatives and tell them to pass the DREAM Act, which stands for the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act.

The presence of a pastor – the white collar, the message of love – tempers the defensiveness and tensions that often underlie discussions about illegal immigration, say those working for comprehensive immigration reform.

Religious leaders walk the corridors of the Capitol building, seeking an audience with members of Congress and their staffs to plead the case of undocumented youth, and why those driven to go to college should be given the chance to pay in-state tuition – as unlikely as many are to afford even that. They tell anyone who will listen that undocumented youth should not be punished because of the decisions of their parents.

They speak at immigration rallies around the nation, speaking about legislation that would grant an estimated 1.5 million undocumented children a chance to legalize their status as crucial to the biblical duty to help the most vulnerable, most needy among us.

And political leaders who are trying to gain support for legislation that would provide a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants – a notion that is highly controversial across the nation – are welcoming the role of the church and pastors, the power of the pulpit, in helping them in their fight.

“The role of the clergy, of the church, is critical,â€

These churches are aiding, abetting and harboring in violation of US immigration law and their leaders lobbying Congress are influencing legislation and impacting public policy in violation of US tax law.

The IRS just sent Wesley Snipes to prison for 3 years for "failure to file a tax return". How many illegal aliens do you think "fail to file a tax return" and how many of them has the IRS sent to prison for 3 years for failure to file? A jury just convicted Tom Delay of illegally directing $190,000 of corporate contributions to GOP candidates in Texas with a possible sentence of 99 years. How many churches have funneled how much money to Democratic candidates in violation of US tax and campaign laws?

This is anarchy when you're black or a Republican and you're prosecuted for crimes, but when you're an illegal alien, Hispanic, a pastor or a Democrat, you aren't.

What's happening to our equal protection under the law because of illegal immigration is a national disgrace.

This doesn't sound like separation of church and state to me.

Is it time to do away with Tax Exemptions for churches?

Originally Posted by Shad

This doesn't sound like separation of church and state to me.

Is it time to do away with Tax Exemptions for churches?

Absolutely. And pass the FairTax which makes tax exempt status moot.

Originally Posted by Shad

This doesn't sound like separation of church and state to me.

Is it time to do away with Tax Exemptions for churches?

It sure isn't. This is about a national, political citizenship issue---not a theological one. These groups---both Catholic and Protestant ----should have complaints filed against them with the IRS:

tax-exempt organization complaint form
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f13909.pdf

God tells us to obey His laws and man's laws. So, illegals once again are the "special" people on the planet.

These people have no business talking about this issue, let alone start the shots. We have forgiven the illegals, turned the other cheek, and are we really supposed to use all four up before we can turn it over to Him?

They are all proudly breaking our laws. If this is allowed or tolerated, maybe the churches can get their money from illegals from now on. This is not what our children need to learn.

They are Catholic priests, Protestant ministers, imams, rabbis – many of them Latino – hoping to influence, in a calming, conciliatory way, the upcoming vote in Congress on the DREAM Act.

http://www.nycago.org/Organs/Bkln/html/StBrigid.html

St Brigids is a Roman Catholic Church.

I am beginning to think there is a difference between Latino, and Hispanic., whereas Latino means having ones ancestral origins in Latin America, and Hispanic meaning having ancestral origins in Spain.

I

Let's not split hairs, these so called priest are sucking up to the IA's because they're the only ones with jobs.
Ask any priest what God's favorite color is, and if the answer isn't scarlet red walk away cause he only worships money.
Several priest I've asked, did not know.