Thread: Trump is lying on Twitter about the illegal alien caravans!

Originally Posted by stoptheinvaders

Are you saying all those church people took control of Trump's twitter when he was tweeting his love for DACA?

Oh no, Trump likes these young people who have been raised in our country and sees them as sympathetic victims of an immigration system failure that should have deported them and their parents within days of their arrival here, but instead ignored it and allowed them to grow up here. It's an unfair situation. But on the political side of it, his political position changed because of lobbying from the evangelicals and other church people, you know they make a lot of money from all this immigration because they run these various charities that sign up to provide "services" and also have a lot of illegal aliens who are members of their churches who attend, contribute, donate and support the church organization.

Originally Posted by Judy

Oh no, Trump likes these young people who have been raised in our country and sees them as sympathetic victims of an immigration system failure that should have deported them and their parents within days of their arrival here, but instead ignored it and allowed them to grow up here. It's an unfair situation. But on the political side of it, his political position changed because of lobbying from the evangelicals and other church people, you know they make a lot of money from all this immigration because they run these various charities that sign up to provide "services" and also have a lot of illegal aliens who are members of their churches who attend, contribute, donate and support the church organization.

Do you have a source on that statement about evangelicals? I haven't heard anything like that. I know the Catholics have been pushing for amnesty, and there may be some Christians pushing for amnesty, but haven't heard anything about "all those" evangelicals.

Originally Posted by imblest

Do you have a source on that statement about evangelicals? I haven't heard anything like that. I know the Catholics have been pushing for amnesty, and there may be some Christians pushing for amnesty, but haven't heard anything about "all those" evangelicals.

Evangelical leaders call for help for Dreamers

by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, October 05, 2017 (one year ago)

WASHINGTON (BP) -- A coalition of evangelical leaders organized by Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore has urged Congress to supply a remedy for undocumented immigrants brought by their parents to the United States.

In a statement released today (Oct. 5), the 51 signers called for a legislative solution for the approximately 800,000 people affected by the Trump administration's Sept. 5 announcement it would end a program that gave them relief from deportation. Today's statement comes on the final day undocumented residents who were brought to the United States as children will be able to apply for deportation deferral. See related story.

In a 2012 order, President Obama established the program to protect undocumented immigrants who arrived in this country before their 16th birthday. The order to protect Dreamers, as they are known, came after Congress failed for more than a decade to pass proposals to address the issue.

Signers of the new statement said they endorse "the underlying policy aim" of the rescinded program -- known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) -- "because we believe this is a special category of immigrants who are not legally culpable, who in most cases have no home other than the United States, and who are a blessing to their communities and to their churches."

They acknowledged many of them were skeptical about the wisdom of achieving the goal through a temporary order by the president. The recent reversal of the program demonstrates Congress needs to act, they said.

"It is long past time for Congress to work together to find a workable solution for our broken immigration system -- especially for the hundreds of thousands of young, undocumented immigrants who were brought to our country by their parents," said Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), in a written release. "Many of these Dreamers have stepped forward in good faith, and our government has a moral obligation to deliver on the promises made to these men and women and protect them from perpetual uncertainty."

Moore described his cosigners as "convictional leaders from across the evangelical spectrum. We stand together united by many things, in this case the conviction Congress should provide a fair, compassionate and speedy solution."

Among those who responded to invitations to sign were former Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) presidents Ronnie Floyd, Bryant Wright, Jack Graham and James Merritt.

While the statement did not endorse a particular piece of legislation, it presented six principles for a congressional remedy:

-- "We believe it is unjust to punish children for offenses they did not commit.

-- "We believe America's borders must be secure.

-- "We believe we should welcome Dreamers of good moral character and who are working hard to contribute to our country.

-- "We believe Dreamers deserve to be recognized as our fellow Americans.

-- "We believe our government should provide a pathway to permanent legal status and/or citizenship for eligible Dreamers.

-- "We believe a just government works to maintain the integrity of families."

They "hold a variety of opinions on how best to achieve satisfactory border security, but we all agree that border security is a necessary ingredient to reforming our immigration system," the signers said in the statement.

Those who have taken part in DACA have pursued education, worked and paid taxes, served in the military and refused to become involved in crime, according to the statement. "A solution for Dreamers rightly excludes those convicted of felonies or multiple misdemeanors," the signers said.

"While we feel the tension between our obligations to both Christian compassion and respect for the rule of law, we reject the idea that the two are irreconcilable," they said.

When repeal of DACA was announced, the Trump administration specified its process would provide Congress with time to act before the program is shut down.

In 2001, members of Congress proposed for the first time the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act -- hence the name Dreamers for those in this category of undocumented immigrants. The measure gained reintroduction several times thereafter without passing before Obama acted.

Included among the signers were:

-- SBC pastors such as Matt Chandler; Byron Day, also president of the National African American Fellowship of the SBC; J.D. Greear; D.A. Horton; Greg Laurie; A.B. Vines; and Afshin Ziafat.

-- Non-SBC evangelical leaders such as Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals; D.A. Carson, president of The Gospel Coalition; Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; Rich Stearns, president of World Vision U.S.; and George Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God.

-- Theological school heads such as Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School; Richard Land, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary; and Richard Mouw, president emeritus of Fuller Theological Seminary.

Other signers included authors Randy Alcorn, Rosaria Butterfield, Thomas Kidd and Jen Wilkin; Nashville pastor Ray Ortlund; conservative editor Erick Erickson; hip-hop artist Shai Linne; and constitutional law expert Michael McConnell.

The statement may be read and signed at https://erlc.com/resource-library/st...es-on-dreamers.

In 2011, messengers to the annual SBC meeting approved a resolution on immigration reform that called for the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus while pursuing justice and compassion. The measure urged the government to make a priority of border security and hold businesses accountable in their hiring. It also requested public officials establish after securing the borders "a just and compassionate path to legal status, with appropriate restitutionary measures, for those undocumented immigrants already living in our country." It specified the resolution was not to be interpreted as supporting amnesty.

http://www.bpnews.net/49670/evangeli...p-for-dreamers

Baptists weigh in on Senate immigration/DACA debate

by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, February 15, 2018 (11 months ago)


WASHINGTON (BP) -- Southern Baptist voices are addressing the U.S. Senate's current effort to resolve the fate of undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children.

U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla, sets forth key immigration reform elements in addressing Senate deliberations Feb. 12.
Screen capture from video released by Sen. Lankford's office
Senators began yesterday (Feb. 14) moving toward votes on legislation to address the category of undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers, as well as other parts of the tangled web of immigration that Congress has failed to address in recent decades. The Senate is expected to make decisions on a series of amendments in an attempt to agree before the Presidents' Day recess (Feb. 19-23) on a bill that will have the support of 60 senators and thereby overcome an effort to block passage under the chamber's rules.

The Senate is deliberating as a critical deadline for Dreamers nears. On March 5, a program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) -- which has given about 800,000 people relief from deportation -- will expire. If no legislative resolution is achieved by that date, an estimated 1,000 people a day will lose their protection from deportation. Two federal judges -- one in New York and another in San Francisco -- have temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending DACA, however.

Other issues that may be addressed include border security and family based immigration.

Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore told Baptist Press in written comments, "The overwhelming majority of American people agree on both the problem and solution when it comes to Dreamers. I urge Congress not to kick this down the road or ignore those in jeopardy.

"Personal ambition or political calculation should never pave over the lives of people created in the image of God," said Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). "My prayer is that elected officials will have a conscience shaped by care for people and will do the right thing."

The ERLC said Feb. 13 in a policy document its priorities heading into the Senate debate remain "a permanent solution for eligible Dreamers, ensuring America's border is secure, and maintaining the integrity of families."

While it is neutral on some issues, the ERLC said, "Central to our vision for reform is a rejection of the idea that our commitment to both Christian compassion and respect for the rule of law are irreconcilable. As a country, we advocate for a fair and just solution for the undocumented young men and women, not just because it is the 'right thing to do,' but because it accords with biblical principles."

Among its priorities, the ERLC supports:

-- A path to permanent legal status or citizenship for Dreamers.

Since Dreamers did not break the law when brought to this country, "Subjecting them to deportation or lives of perpetual insecurity in the shadows of our communities is an offense to both the rule of law and a biblical pattern of justice," according to the ERLC.

-- A secure border.

"The federal government bears a God-given responsibility to ensure the security of our nation," the ERLC document said. "Border security is a critical component to reform our immigration system so that our country is less vulnerable to illegal immigration moving forward."

-- A pro-family immigration policy.

The ERLC said it is concerned "about calls to end so-called 'chain migration,' which is a misleading way to characterize our nation's family reunification system." The document voiced "serious concerns about removing parents and adult children from eligible family preference categories. The biblical command for children to honor their father and mother is a lifelong familial responsibility."

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., a Southern Baptist, explained on the Senate floor Feb. 12 one of the proposals being offered, the Secure and Succeed Act. The Republican measure fundamentally follows the four-pillar framework offered by President Trump in January. That White House proposal consists of:

-- Securing the border through, among other proposals, a $25 billion trust fund for a southern border wall system and improvements on the northern border, as well as increased removal of some in the country illegally.

-- A 10- to 12-year path to citizenship for Dreamers who meet work, education and character requirements.

-- Restricting family sponsorships to spouses and minor children.

-- Eliminating the visa lottery for countries with low rates of immigration to this country.

Lankford, a co-sponsor of the Secure and Succeed Act, told his colleagues the president gave the country "a great gift ... a deadline."

"Immigration for two decades has been well known to be a problem, but there has been no deadline," Lankford said. "The president set the deadline of March 5th to have this resolved. We're nearing that now. It's time to move from just debating this in the hallways and in our offices to debating it on the floor of this chamber and trying to get this resolved."

Some other proposals being presented have the support of both Democrats and Republicans.

Southern Baptists have spoken out in recent months on the need to provide a permanent remedy for Dreamers and continue to do so.

In early October, ERLC President Russell Moore brought together 51 evangelical leaders -- including four former SBC presidents -- in a statement endorsing "the underlying policy aim" of DACA "because we believe this is a special category of immigrants who are not legally culpable, who in most cases have no home other than the United States, and who are a blessing to their communities and to their churches."

James Merritt, one of the former SBC presidents to sign the statement, wrote in an op-ed that justice in the Bible "not only enforces the law but also considers the plight of the victim and seeks to make things right. We don't make things right by punishing Dreamers who were brought here as children. We make things right by considering those affected and imperiled by our broken system, and by making a legal pathway for them to earn citizenship and to live productive lives that contribute to our economy and communities."

Moore and some Southern Baptist pastors urged the Senate to provide relief for Dreamers at a Feb. 7 news conference on Capitol Hill.

Alan Cross -- a Southern Baptist minister who serves as a missional strategist with the Montgomery (Ala.) Baptist Association and as a consultant with the Evangelical Immigration Table in the Southeast U.S. -- told Baptist Press Feb. 14, "I hope we come to an agreement in Washington where Dreamers can be granted an earned pathway to citizenship, where our borders are secure, and where immigrant families can be reunified and thrive together.

"I'd have to say that my greatest hope in all of this is to see the church in the South pivot toward the sojourner in our midst with the Gospel, love and good deeds, and to speak on their behalf," Cross said.

Rod D. Martin -- a technology entrepreneur, a member of the Florida Baptist Convention's State Board of Missions and the 2016-2017 chairman of the SBC's Committee on Order of Business -- expressed some concern to Baptist Press about the effort on Dreamers.

“DACA is a hard case, because many of the people involved were brought to America as children,” Martin said in written comments. “But it’s important to remember that many [who would be covered by Trump’s proposal] came deliberately and alone as older teenagers, and that most are now in their late 20s or 30s. While their circumstances are certainly sympathetic, these are people old enough to realize they’re breaking the law and to have done something about it for years now.”

Martin, who said he strongly supports legal immigration, said he "was happy with the president's compromise proposal to offer a path to citizenship for three times as many of these young people as the Democrats have demanded. [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer has rejected that compromise because his party is counting on a flood of illegal immigrants to become voters, replacing the millions of likely Democrat voters they've aborted since Roe v. Wade. The only way they can avoid the long-term electoral consequences of that sin is to flood the system."

Cross said in a Feb. 5 piece for the Biblical Recorder, the newsjournal of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, many of the Dreamers he knows are Christians. "They do not want to be lawbreakers but rather, they want to be right with the law and go on to live a productive life in the only country they know," he wrote.

Messengers to the 2011 SBC meeting in Phoenix approved a resolution on immigration reform that called for the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus while pursuing justice and compassion. The measure urged the government to make a priority of border security and hold businesses accountable in their hiring. It also requested that public officials establish after securing the borders "a just and compassionate path to legal status, with appropriate restitutionary measures, for those undocumented immigrants already living in our country." It specified the resolution was not to be interpreted as supporting amnesty.

The resolution acknowledged immigration reform "has prompted often-rancorous debate in the American public square." Action on the resolution demonstrated the different views Southern Baptists hold on how to address the immigration problem. During consideration of the resolution, an amendment to remove the paragraph regarding establishment of a "path to legal status" failed in a ballot vote of 51-48 percent.

An estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants are in the United States, but efforts to enact a comprehensive measure have failed repeatedly.

In 2001, members of Congress proposed for the first time the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act -- hence the name Dreamers for those in this category of undocumented immigrants. The measure gained reintroduction several times thereafter without passing before President Obama established DACA by executive order in 2012 to protect undocumented immigrants who arrived in this country before their 16th birthday.

The Trump administration announced Sept. 5 it would end DACA but also instituted a six-month delay for Congress to act.

The House of Representatives is working on its own version of legislation to address Dreamers and other immigration issues.

The ERLC document on its priorities for the Senate debate is available at https://erlc.com/resource-library/ar...dreamer-debate.

http://www.bpnews.net/50377/baptists...iondaca-debate

You can check on United Church of Christ, Lutherans, Methodists, Jehovah's Witness, Presbyterians and Mormons. In 2005, when I joined ALIPAC and did my research, they were already in support of illegal aliens with official statements. Southern Baptists, my religion, were the last hold outs. Richard Lamm was called to the White House to meet with Bush, and Bush asked him what he should do, and Lamm told him "enforce the law". That position is obviously changing over the years in favor of amnesty and "solutions" for those already here.

But of course, you're free to your own interpretation of these statements and events.

ALIPAC drops support for Trump's Wall Pretense as an Amnesty Vehicle

For National Release

January 22, 2019

Share this anti-Amnesty press release by e-mail and on (FACEBOOK HERE) .. (TWITTER HERE) .. (GAB HERE) .. (ALIPAC HERE)

https://www.alipac.us/f8/alipac-drop...ehicle-369285/

Report: Trump Open Borders Policies Inspire More Illegal Alien Caravans

For National Release | February 1, 2019



Share this press release, videos, and report by e-mail and on (FACEBOOK HERE) .. (TWITTER HERE) .. (GAB HERE) .. (ALIPAC HERE)

https://www.alipac.us/f8/trump-open-...ravans-369615/

Originally Posted by Judy

Evangelical leaders call for help for Dreamers

by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, October 05, 2017 (one year ago)

WASHINGTON (BP) -- A coalition of evangelical leaders organized by Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore has urged Congress to supply a remedy for undocumented immigrants brought by their parents to the United States.

In a statement released today (Oct. 5), the 51 signers called for a legislative solution for the approximately 800,000 people affected by the Trump administration's Sept. 5 announcement it would end a program that gave them relief from deportation. Today's statement comes on the final day undocumented residents who were brought to the United States as children will be able to apply for deportation deferral. See related story.

In a 2012 order, President Obama established the program to protect undocumented immigrants who arrived in this country before their 16th birthday. The order to protect Dreamers, as they are known, came after Congress failed for more than a decade to pass proposals to address the issue.

Signers of the new statement said they endorse "the underlying policy aim" of the rescinded program -- known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) -- "because we believe this is a special category of immigrants who are not legally culpable, who in most cases have no home other than the United States, and who are a blessing to their communities and to their churches."

They acknowledged many of them were skeptical about the wisdom of achieving the goal through a temporary order by the president. The recent reversal of the program demonstrates Congress needs to act, they said.

"It is long past time for Congress to work together to find a workable solution for our broken immigration system -- especially for the hundreds of thousands of young, undocumented immigrants who were brought to our country by their parents," said Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), in a written release. "Many of these Dreamers have stepped forward in good faith, and our government has a moral obligation to deliver on the promises made to these men and women and protect them from perpetual uncertainty."

Moore described his cosigners as "convictional leaders from across the evangelical spectrum. We stand together united by many things, in this case the conviction Congress should provide a fair, compassionate and speedy solution."

Among those who responded to invitations to sign were former Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) presidents Ronnie Floyd, Bryant Wright, Jack Graham and James Merritt.

While the statement did not endorse a particular piece of legislation, it presented six principles for a congressional remedy:

-- "We believe it is unjust to punish children for offenses they did not commit.

-- "We believe America's borders must be secure.

-- "We believe we should welcome Dreamers of good moral character and who are working hard to contribute to our country.

-- "We believe Dreamers deserve to be recognized as our fellow Americans.

-- "We believe our government should provide a pathway to permanent legal status and/or citizenship for eligible Dreamers.

-- "We believe a just government works to maintain the integrity of families."

They "hold a variety of opinions on how best to achieve satisfactory border security, but we all agree that border security is a necessary ingredient to reforming our immigration system," the signers said in the statement.

Those who have taken part in DACA have pursued education, worked and paid taxes, served in the military and refused to become involved in crime, according to the statement. "A solution for Dreamers rightly excludes those convicted of felonies or multiple misdemeanors," the signers said.

"While we feel the tension between our obligations to both Christian compassion and respect for the rule of law, we reject the idea that the two are irreconcilable," they said.

When repeal of DACA was announced, the Trump administration specified its process would provide Congress with time to act before the program is shut down.

In 2001, members of Congress proposed for the first time the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act -- hence the name Dreamers for those in this category of undocumented immigrants. The measure gained reintroduction several times thereafter without passing before Obama acted.

Included among the signers were:

-- SBC pastors such as Matt Chandler; Byron Day, also president of the National African American Fellowship of the SBC; J.D. Greear; D.A. Horton; Greg Laurie; A.B. Vines; and Afshin Ziafat.

-- Non-SBC evangelical leaders such as Leith Anderson, president of the National Association of Evangelicals; D.A. Carson, president of The Gospel Coalition; Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; Rich Stearns, president of World Vision U.S.; and George Wood, general superintendent of the Assemblies of God.

-- Theological school heads such as Daniel Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; Timothy George, dean of Beeson Divinity School; Richard Land, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary; and Richard Mouw, president emeritus of Fuller Theological Seminary.

Other signers included authors Randy Alcorn, Rosaria Butterfield, Thomas Kidd and Jen Wilkin; Nashville pastor Ray Ortlund; conservative editor Erick Erickson; hip-hop artist Shai Linne; and constitutional law expert Michael McConnell.

The statement may be read and signed at https://erlc.com/resource-library/st...es-on-dreamers.

In 2011, messengers to the annual SBC meeting approved a resolution on immigration reform that called for the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus while pursuing justice and compassion. The measure urged the government to make a priority of border security and hold businesses accountable in their hiring. It also requested public officials establish after securing the borders "a just and compassionate path to legal status, with appropriate restitutionary measures, for those undocumented immigrants already living in our country." It specified the resolution was not to be interpreted as supporting amnesty.

http://www.bpnews.net/49670/evangeli...p-for-dreamers

Baptists weigh in on Senate immigration/DACA debate

by Tom Strode, posted Thursday, February 15, 2018 (11 months ago)


WASHINGTON (BP) -- Southern Baptist voices are addressing the U.S. Senate's current effort to resolve the fate of undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children.

U.S. Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla, sets forth key immigration reform elements in addressing Senate deliberations Feb. 12.
Screen capture from video released by Sen. Lankford's office
Senators began yesterday (Feb. 14) moving toward votes on legislation to address the category of undocumented immigrants known as Dreamers, as well as other parts of the tangled web of immigration that Congress has failed to address in recent decades. The Senate is expected to make decisions on a series of amendments in an attempt to agree before the Presidents' Day recess (Feb. 19-23) on a bill that will have the support of 60 senators and thereby overcome an effort to block passage under the chamber's rules.

The Senate is deliberating as a critical deadline for Dreamers nears. On March 5, a program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) -- which has given about 800,000 people relief from deportation -- will expire. If no legislative resolution is achieved by that date, an estimated 1,000 people a day will lose their protection from deportation. Two federal judges -- one in New York and another in San Francisco -- have temporarily blocked the Trump administration from ending DACA, however.

Other issues that may be addressed include border security and family based immigration.

Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore told Baptist Press in written comments, "The overwhelming majority of American people agree on both the problem and solution when it comes to Dreamers. I urge Congress not to kick this down the road or ignore those in jeopardy.

"Personal ambition or political calculation should never pave over the lives of people created in the image of God," said Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). "My prayer is that elected officials will have a conscience shaped by care for people and will do the right thing."

The ERLC said Feb. 13 in a policy document its priorities heading into the Senate debate remain "a permanent solution for eligible Dreamers, ensuring America's border is secure, and maintaining the integrity of families."

While it is neutral on some issues, the ERLC said, "Central to our vision for reform is a rejection of the idea that our commitment to both Christian compassion and respect for the rule of law are irreconcilable. As a country, we advocate for a fair and just solution for the undocumented young men and women, not just because it is the 'right thing to do,' but because it accords with biblical principles."

Among its priorities, the ERLC supports:

-- A path to permanent legal status or citizenship for Dreamers.

Since Dreamers did not break the law when brought to this country, "Subjecting them to deportation or lives of perpetual insecurity in the shadows of our communities is an offense to both the rule of law and a biblical pattern of justice," according to the ERLC.

-- A secure border.

"The federal government bears a God-given responsibility to ensure the security of our nation," the ERLC document said. "Border security is a critical component to reform our immigration system so that our country is less vulnerable to illegal immigration moving forward."

-- A pro-family immigration policy.

The ERLC said it is concerned "about calls to end so-called 'chain migration,' which is a misleading way to characterize our nation's family reunification system." The document voiced "serious concerns about removing parents and adult children from eligible family preference categories. The biblical command for children to honor their father and mother is a lifelong familial responsibility."

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., a Southern Baptist, explained on the Senate floor Feb. 12 one of the proposals being offered, the Secure and Succeed Act. The Republican measure fundamentally follows the four-pillar framework offered by President Trump in January. That White House proposal consists of:

-- Securing the border through, among other proposals, a $25 billion trust fund for a southern border wall system and improvements on the northern border, as well as increased removal of some in the country illegally.

-- A 10- to 12-year path to citizenship for Dreamers who meet work, education and character requirements.

-- Restricting family sponsorships to spouses and minor children.

-- Eliminating the visa lottery for countries with low rates of immigration to this country.

Lankford, a co-sponsor of the Secure and Succeed Act, told his colleagues the president gave the country "a great gift ... a deadline."

"Immigration for two decades has been well known to be a problem, but there has been no deadline," Lankford said. "The president set the deadline of March 5th to have this resolved. We're nearing that now. It's time to move from just debating this in the hallways and in our offices to debating it on the floor of this chamber and trying to get this resolved."

Some other proposals being presented have the support of both Democrats and Republicans.

Southern Baptists have spoken out in recent months on the need to provide a permanent remedy for Dreamers and continue to do so.

In early October, ERLC President Russell Moore brought together 51 evangelical leaders -- including four former SBC presidents -- in a statement endorsing "the underlying policy aim" of DACA "because we believe this is a special category of immigrants who are not legally culpable, who in most cases have no home other than the United States, and who are a blessing to their communities and to their churches."

James Merritt, one of the former SBC presidents to sign the statement, wrote in an op-ed that justice in the Bible "not only enforces the law but also considers the plight of the victim and seeks to make things right. We don't make things right by punishing Dreamers who were brought here as children. We make things right by considering those affected and imperiled by our broken system, and by making a legal pathway for them to earn citizenship and to live productive lives that contribute to our economy and communities."

Moore and some Southern Baptist pastors urged the Senate to provide relief for Dreamers at a Feb. 7 news conference on Capitol Hill.

Alan Cross -- a Southern Baptist minister who serves as a missional strategist with the Montgomery (Ala.) Baptist Association and as a consultant with the Evangelical Immigration Table in the Southeast U.S. -- told Baptist Press Feb. 14, "I hope we come to an agreement in Washington where Dreamers can be granted an earned pathway to citizenship, where our borders are secure, and where immigrant families can be reunified and thrive together.

"I'd have to say that my greatest hope in all of this is to see the church in the South pivot toward the sojourner in our midst with the Gospel, love and good deeds, and to speak on their behalf," Cross said.

Rod D. Martin -- a technology entrepreneur, a member of the Florida Baptist Convention's State Board of Missions and the 2016-2017 chairman of the SBC's Committee on Order of Business -- expressed some concern to Baptist Press about the effort on Dreamers.

“DACA is a hard case, because many of the people involved were brought to America as children,” Martin said in written comments. “But it’s important to remember that many [who would be covered by Trump’s proposal] came deliberately and alone as older teenagers, and that most are now in their late 20s or 30s. While their circumstances are certainly sympathetic, these are people old enough to realize they’re breaking the law and to have done something about it for years now.”

Martin, who said he strongly supports legal immigration, said he "was happy with the president's compromise proposal to offer a path to citizenship for three times as many of these young people as the Democrats have demanded. [Senate Minority Leader] Chuck Schumer has rejected that compromise because his party is counting on a flood of illegal immigrants to become voters, replacing the millions of likely Democrat voters they've aborted since Roe v. Wade. The only way they can avoid the long-term electoral consequences of that sin is to flood the system."

Cross said in a Feb. 5 piece for the Biblical Recorder, the newsjournal of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, many of the Dreamers he knows are Christians. "They do not want to be lawbreakers but rather, they want to be right with the law and go on to live a productive life in the only country they know," he wrote.

Messengers to the 2011 SBC meeting in Phoenix approved a resolution on immigration reform that called for the advancement of the Gospel of Jesus while pursuing justice and compassion. The measure urged the government to make a priority of border security and hold businesses accountable in their hiring. It also requested that public officials establish after securing the borders "a just and compassionate path to legal status, with appropriate restitutionary measures, for those undocumented immigrants already living in our country." It specified the resolution was not to be interpreted as supporting amnesty.

The resolution acknowledged immigration reform "has prompted often-rancorous debate in the American public square." Action on the resolution demonstrated the different views Southern Baptists hold on how to address the immigration problem. During consideration of the resolution, an amendment to remove the paragraph regarding establishment of a "path to legal status" failed in a ballot vote of 51-48 percent.

An estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants are in the United States, but efforts to enact a comprehensive measure have failed repeatedly.

In 2001, members of Congress proposed for the first time the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act -- hence the name Dreamers for those in this category of undocumented immigrants. The measure gained reintroduction several times thereafter without passing before President Obama established DACA by executive order in 2012 to protect undocumented immigrants who arrived in this country before their 16th birthday.

The Trump administration announced Sept. 5 it would end DACA but also instituted a six-month delay for Congress to act.

The House of Representatives is working on its own version of legislation to address Dreamers and other immigration issues.

The ERLC document on its priorities for the Senate debate is available at https://erlc.com/resource-library/ar...dreamer-debate.

http://www.bpnews.net/50377/baptists...iondaca-debate

You can check on United Church of Christ, Lutherans, Methodists, Jehovah's Witness, Presbyterians and Mormons. In 2005, when I joined ALIPAC and did my research, they were already in support of illegal aliens with official statements. Southern Baptists, my religion, were the last hold outs. Richard Lamm was called to the White House to meet with Bush, and Bush asked him what he should do, and Lamm told him "enforce the law". That position is obviously changing over the years in favor of amnesty and "solutions" for those already here.

But of course, you're free to your own interpretation of these statements and events.

Not so fast: Evangelicals differ with their leaders on immigration reform

Many leaders support citizenship moves, but rank and file differ

ByDavid Ward
Published: February 21, 2013 11:35 pm

View 4 Items

Nick Ut, Associated PressA survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted in January found that 70 percent were not confident the government would keep its promise to enforce immigration laws if it grants legal status to illegal immigrants.

I do think that evangelicals, because we place a high value on love and compassion, can easily be fooled into compromising justice based on a shallow understanding of compassion.—Bryan FischerIt's been in the headlines for months.

"Evangelicals push Congress for immigration changes."

"Among U.S. evangelicals, surprising support for immigration reform."

"Obama's immigration plan encourages evangelicals."

Outlets including The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, Reuters and numerous others have written more or less the same story on the subject.

The problem is that it's not exactly true. Evangelicals are not largely behind comprehensive immigration reform, which is commonly taken to mean a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants and, simultaneously, measures for improved enforcement of immigration law.

Yes, scores of leaders, including prominent conservatives from the Southern Baptist Convention and Focus on the Family, have signed on to such coalitions as the Evangelical Immigration Table, Christian Churches Together and G92 — all of which advocate for comprehensive reform.

But among the rank and file, the attitude is something closer to "not so fast."

Allan Wall, an Oklahoma schoolteacher and practicing evangelical who writes about immigration, put it this way: "Despite the stereotype of some kind of monolithic army of evangelical zombies being controlled by their leaders, in reality it's a rather fractious bunch."

Data appear to support Wall's view. A June 2012 Pew Forum survey found that evangelicals prioritize "better border security" over "creating a path to citizenship" by a ratio of nearly 3 to 1. Among the American public in general, the ratio is 1 to 1.

The sense among many, if not most, evangelicals is that the government will grant citizenship to illegal immigrants, but not hold up the enforcement end of the bargain.

Show the enforcement

Phyllis Schlafly, president of the conservative advocacy group Eagle Forum, estimates that roughly 80 percent of her roughly 30,000-member organization is evangelical.

"I don't hear any of them saying they support these ideas to give legal residency to illegal immigrants," she said.

Schlafly points to past disappointments as the reason for their views.

"The thing is, we tried this amnesty with Reagan and it was a big failure. In fact, it was a big fraud. And if you keep doing the same thing, why are you going to get a different result?"

But Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, bristled at the notion that current proposals constitute amnesty.

Land, along with eight other evangelical leaders, heads the Evangelical Immigration Table, a group of more than 100 pastors, academics and other leaders calling for a bipartisan solution on immigration.

"What we're proposing is not amnesty," he said. "If you have to pay a fine and back taxes, and you have to learn to read, write and speak English to stay here and you have to go on probationary status, that's not amnesty."

Wall, who lived in Mexico for 15 years and whose wife is Mexican, isn't buying it. "We're not very confident the government is going to do all these things — the back taxes and showing English proficiency — because of the simple fact that the Obama administration right now is not enforcing the law anyway."

He said that if lawmakers first concentrated on security, he could see people warming up to other measures.

Schlafly agreed. "The American people want the government to enforce the laws we already have. The American people wanted a fence, for example, and I remember that Congress passed a law to build a fence and George W. Bush had a photo op signing the law to build the fence. Well, they never built it.

"When we turn on our TV and see a real, honest-to-goodness fence, we might talk again."

An immigration reform proposal introduced by a bipartisan group of eight senators in January has garnered the support of many top evangelical leaders.

The framework calls for an increase in manpower and equipment for border security and would create a commission to monitor enforcement. At the same time, it would grant probation to illegal immigrants who come forward and register with the government.

When asked if this proposal would guarantee the enforcement of immigration laws, James Edwards, a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, said "absolutely not." It would, however, grant de facto citizenship to illegal immigrants who go on probation, he said.

Family concern

The Southern Baptist Convention isn't the only high-profile conservative group involved with the Evangelical Immigration Table. Focus on the Family signed on in June.

Senior vice president of policy Tom Minnery said the group's position, while calling for a path to legal status for illegal immigrants, doesn't necessarily go as far as citizenship.

Concern for families living under the burden of potential deportation is the main reason Focus on the Family joined the coalition, he said.

Wall doesn't believe that reason is completely fair because immigrants who choose to come illegally know up front that deportation and family separation are risks they're taking. American families are separated every day when fathers or mothers commit crimes and go to jail.

"Are all the Americans who've committed crimes going to be released from jail?" he asked.

Minnery conceded that the concern over enforcement is legitimate. There's a "great lack of confidence" in the government to deliver, he said. "Without question, it will be up to the politicians to convince the public that this time a truly comprehensive solution is in the offing."

A survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted in January found that 70 percent were not confident the government would keep its promise to enforce immigration laws if it grants legal status to illegal immigrants.

The poll, conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, found that a majority of both Republicans and Democrats shared this lack of confidence.

On leadership

Land insists that evangelical support for comprehensive immigration reform is widespread, pointing to a 2011 Southern Baptist Convention resolution on the issue. It passed with an 80 percent vote, he said.

"But a lot of people simply aren't being represented," Wall counters. "I don't feel that all the people in the grass roots and in the pews have been informed about this."

American Family Radio host Bryan Fischer, also an evangelical, agreed and pointed to the Pulse Opinion Research survey. "The leadership of the evangelical community is almost completely out of alignment right now with ordinary evangelicals and ordinary Americans."

Why the disconnect?

"It's kind of a mystery to me," said Fischer, who calls many of the leaders friends. "They just seem to have all stampeded off the cliff on this issue together, like the psychology of lemmings, I guess.

"I think it's because of the shallow, superficial appeal of being considered compassionate by the mainstream media. They get a lot of fawning, favorable press, and they eat that up. They know the New York Times and Washington Post will say nice things about them."

Arguing compassion

Wall said faith leaders are trying to "guilt trip" congregations to support citizenship for illegal immigrants.

"It's shameless the way these evangelical leaders will take these arguments and put a thin veneer of religiosity on top of it. As a Christian, we do want to help the needy. And that's through Christian charity — a person giving his own resources in the name of Christ to the needy."

Fischer said that any discussion of compassion must also include compassion for the people who have been waiting in line for years to come legally, as well as compassion for American citizens who have borne welfare, law enforcement, education and medical care costs at a time when jobs are scarce and family finances are tight.

"I do think that evangelicals, because we place a high value on love and compassion, can easily be fooled into compromising justice based on a shallow understanding of compassion," he said.

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/...on-reform.html

Report: White Evangelicals Are Biggest Opponents of Immigration Read more at https://

Report: White Evangelicals Are Biggest Opponents of Immigration

Posted on November 2, 2018 by Universal Life Church Monastery

image: https://www.themonastery.org/blog/wp...n-1024x574.jpg
More than half of white evangelicals surveyed believe immigrants “threaten traditional American customs and values.”

With the midterm elections and a so-called “migrant caravan” putting renewed focus on immigration issues, one particular group has emerged as the biggest opponent of letting new immigrants into the country: white evangelicals.

That’s according to the Public Religion Research Institute’s ninth annual American Values Survey, which covered topics such as immigration and racial diversity and asked whether they constitute “threats” to American values.

The white evangelicals surveyed reacted strongly to data forecasts that show the U.S. will become a minority white nation by 2045. When asked to characterize this ethnic and racial “realignment,” 54 percent of white evangelicals saw it as a negative – by far the highest out of any religious demographic group. Meanwhile, over 80 percent of Hispanic Catholics and black Protestants and 51 percent of white Catholics and Protestants saw it as a positive.

Immigrants: A Threat to American Values?

More than half of white evangelicals surveyed believe immigrants “threaten traditional American customs and values.” Interestingly, at least 47 percent of white Catholics and 48 percent white mainline Protestants agreed.

So that covers immigration in general, but what about refugees and asylum-seekers in particular?

Most religious Americans oppose any hypothetical ban on refugees entering the United States. But not white evangelicals – more than 50 percent said they would support such a law. These same evangelicals were least likely to oppose separating immigrant children from their families along the Southern border and most likely to support a “temporary travel ban for people from some majority-Muslim countries.”

Fear of “The Other”

The history of the United States is one of new immigrants coming here seeking promise and opportunity. So why is this phenomenon still viewed as such a threat?

Janelle Wong, a professor of American Studies, set out to answer this question during a Brookings Institution panel discussion in Washington, D.C. “To understand white evangelicals here in the U.S., we really need to look beyond the hot-button traditional religious views of abortion and same-sex marriage,” she explained. “The real key to understanding them is through their anti-immigrant attitudes and fear of demographic change. It is really this potent mix of nativism and racial anxiety and white Christian nationalism that underlines many of the other policy attitudes that you see presented in this report.”

image: https://www.themonastery.org/blog/wp...11/Caravan.jpg
A caravan of migrants heading north toward the U.S. has renewed public attention and sparked a sense of urgency on the immigration issue.

Would Jesus Welcome Immigrants?

Is it fair to single out white evangelicals for their views? After all, opponents of immigration can be found in all corners of American society. But the fact remains that striking numbers of religious Americans oppose immigration in one form or another — a view that critics translate to “a better life for me, but not for thee.”

Does that mindset square with biblical values?

Jesus spoke often of helping the poor, the needy, the disenfranchised. Religious groups that do support immigration commonly cite Leviticus 19:34, which says: “the foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”

Then again, the Bible is a versatile tool that can be wielded to to support a wide range of positions. As you might remember, earlier this year Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited a passage from the Bible to defend separating immigrant children from their parents at the border.


Read more at https://www.themonastery.org/blog/20...iV5eHU7jFiW.99