Illegal immigrants to seek new shelter...

[Sinsear]

It seems church groups have joined forces with pro-immigration to harbor illegal immigrants in churches to protect them from deportation.

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(AP) Churches in five big U.S. cities plan to protect illegal immigrants from deportation, offering their buildings as sanctuary if need be, as they pressure lawmakers to create a path to citizenship for the nation's estimated 12 million illegal immigrants.

On Wednesday, a Catholic church in Los Angeles and a Lutheran church in North Hollywood each sheltered one person, and churches in other cities plan to do so in coming months as part of the "New Sanctuary Movement."

"We want to put a human face to very complex immigration laws and awaken the consciousness of the human spirit," said Father Richard Estrada of Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in Los Angeles.

Organizers said churches in more than 50 cities nationwide were planning to join the sanctuary effort. They don't believe immigration agents will make arrests inside the churches.

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has not tried to arrest Elvira Arellano, an illegal immigrant who has taken shelter at a Methodist church in Chicago since August. Her son is a U.S. citizen and he has lobbied in the Mexican legislature on behalf of families that would be split if parents are deported.

ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice declined to say whether agents would attempt to arrest others who take sanctuary in churches, although she noted agents had the authority to arrest anyone violating immigration law.

Anti-illegal-immigration groups called the sanctuary effort misguided.

The faith groups "don't seem to realize that they are being charitable with someone else's resources, and that's not charity," said Ira Mehlman of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which favors limits on immigration.

"We are talking about illegal immigrants taking someone else's job, filling up the classroom of someone else's child," he said.

The sanctuary effort is loosely based on a movement in the 1980s, when churches harbored Central American refugees fleeing wars in their home countries. Organizers of the current movement include members of the Jewish, Muslim, Catholic and other faiths.

Participating churches in San Diego, Seattle, Chicago and New York won't initially house illegal immigrants. Instead, leaders will provide legal counsel, accompany them to court hearings and prepare plans to house them in churches if authorities try to deport them.

The plans come as immigration reform legislation has been stalled since last summer, and tens of thousands of illegal immigrants have been detained and deported in stepped-up immigration raids in recent months.

At Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Church in downtown Los Angeles on Wednesday, more than 30 priests, pastors, imams and rabbis blessed two illegal immigrants during a raucous ceremony attended by 300 people.

A Mexican man will be sheltered at the church, and another from Guatemala will be housed at San Pablo's Lutheran Church in North Hollywood.

The Guatemalan, a gardener who only gave his first name as Juan, said he worried about what might happen to his young daughters if he was deported. Both girls are U.S. citizens because they were born in the U.S.

"I want to ask the politicians to see the suffering of the immigrant families," he said.

In New York, churches will be aiding a Haitian man and a Chinese couple who are facing deportation and have children who are U.S. citizens, said Father Juan Carlos Ruiz.

Religious leaders gathered at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Paul the Apostle said their promise of sanctuary could include financial assistance, legal help and physical protection, if necessary.

"For us, sanctuary is an act of radical hospitality, the welcoming of the stranger who is like ourselves, the stranger in our midst, our neighbors, our friends," said Rabbi Michael Feinberg of the Greater New York Labor-Religion Coalition.

Jani, a U.S. citizen who did not give her last name, said heHaitian-born husband, Jean, is facing deportation because of a 1989 drug conviction in the U.S. that put him in prison for 11 years. She said the family would take refuge in a church, if necessary, rather than be separated.

The churches sought immigrants who wanted to take part in the sanctuary movement and were screened to make sure they paid taxes and didn't have criminal backgrounds, said Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, executive director of Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice, an interfaith association spearheading the national plans.

They chose the Haitan man because "his crime was 20 years ago and since then he has totally reformed his life," she said.

 

[Corbett]

All they need to do is take away any the 501c3 of any Church harboring illegal immigrants. Problem solved.

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Don't think they're going to be of much use to their families being stuck in a church all the time...

Unless they like work there, then our churches will be staffed by undocumented immigrants. =D

 

[michaels]

Originally posted by: Corbett
All they need to do is take away any the 501c3 of any Church harboring illegal immigrants. Problem solved.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Corbett
All they need to do is take away any the 501c3 of any Church harboring illegal immigrants. Problem solved.

You shouldn't though. In Canada, churches do the same thing, though only rarely. There's no law AFAIK that allows them to do so here, just a tradition of allowing it. I dunno why anyone would be against Churches doing this as the Church is fully responsible for taking care of those in Sanctuary.

 

[babylon5]

Are those churches to contain thousands/millions of people? Must be some huge churches.

 

[michaels]

So what other criminals will churches start taking in? They already have the pedos taken care of.

 

[her209]

The argument that deportation of the illegal parents would put undue hardship on the children holds as much weight as child who has parents who will be going to jail for an extended period of time. I.e., should the state refuse to send people to jail because it would present an undue hardship on their children?

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: michaels
So what other criminals will churches start taking in? They already have the pedos taken care of.

Think of the $$ you'd save if they did.

 

[jrenz]

Originally posted by: her209
The argument that deportation of the illegal parents would put undue hardship on the children holds as much weight as child who has parents who will be going to jail for an extended period of time. I.e., should the state refuse to send people to jail because it would present an undue hardship on their children?

As a taxpayer, I'd be happy to spring for an extra bus ticket to get the kid back to Mexico with his parents.

 

[Genx87]

This is nothing new really, churches, especially Catholic ones (i know, I am Catholic before anybody calls me a bigot again) work on bringing over immigrants from other countries so we can pay for them.

This is also what the media doesnt discuss, the religious left.

 

[1EZduzit]

Originally posted by: Genx87
This is nothing new really, churches, especially Catholic ones (i know, I am Catholic before anybody calls me a bigot again) work on bringing over immigrants from other countries so we can pay for them.

This is also what the media doesnt discuss, the religious left.

It's the church leadership, they support illegal Mexicans because they're predominately, if not all, catholic.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit

Originally posted by: Genx87
This is nothing new really, churches, especially Catholic ones (i know, I am Catholic before anybody calls me a bigot again) work on bringing over immigrants from other countries so we can pay for them.

This is also what the media doesnt discuss, the religious left.

It's the church leadership, they support illegal Mexicans because they're predominately, if not all, catholic.

Yes and? In MN the big thing is getting people from Laos and Cambodia.

 

[1EZduzit]

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit

Originally posted by: Genx87
This is nothing new really, churches, especially Catholic ones (i know, I am Catholic before anybody calls me a bigot again) work on bringing over immigrants from other countries so we can pay for them.

This is also what the media doesnt discuss, the religious left.

It's the church leadership, they support illegal Mexicans because they're predominately, if not all, catholic.

Yes and? In MN the big thing is getting people from Laos and Cambodia.

There is a BIG difference in my book between bringing immigrants in legally and supporting illegal immigrants. I agree with Corbett.

Originally posted by: Corbett
All they need to do is take away any the 501c3 of any Church harboring illegal immigrants. Problem solved.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Originally posted by: Genx87
Yes and? In MN the big thing is getting people from Laos and Cambodia.

You can thank the Lutheran Church for the Hmongs.

Most of you guys have probably never heard of Hmongs before, but they're in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Many live in St. Paul, I think. The Hmongs, who were mountain farmers, helped the U.S. in Vietnam and got dicked over when the U.S. pulled out, ending up as refugees in neighboring countries. A common Hmong last name is "Nguyen".

I guess I don't feel so badly about bringing them here for that reason, however, I've read that they don't integrate with American society real well. (As I understand it, they're polygamists and the women are somewhat subservient to men.) Here's an interesting discussion about Hmongs in Wausau, Wisconsin, and the problems the Hmong immigration created in the city and the school system. (Anyone remember those old, annoying commercials for Wausau Insurance?)

The Ordeal of Immigration in Wausau
http://www.vdare.com/misc/beck_041129_wausau.htm

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit

Originally posted by: Genx87
This is nothing new really, churches, especially Catholic ones (i know, I am Catholic before anybody calls me a bigot again) work on bringing over immigrants from other countries so we can pay for them.

This is also what the media doesnt discuss, the religious left.

It's the church leadership, they support illegal Mexicans because they're predominately, if not all, catholic.

Yeah and so is Tony Soprano. I guess that makes him a pretty stand-up guy, huh?

 

[1EZduzit]

Originally posted by: ahurtt

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit

Originally posted by: Genx87
This is nothing new really, churches, especially Catholic ones (i know, I am Catholic before anybody calls me a bigot again) work on bringing over immigrants from other countries so we can pay for them.

This is also what the media doesnt discuss, the religious left.

It's the church leadership, they support illegal Mexicans because they're predominately, if not all, catholic.

Yeah and so is Tony Soprano. I guess that makes him a pretty stand-up guy, huh?

What are you talking about?

 

[PieIsAwesome]

Originally posted by: jrenz

Originally posted by: her209
The argument that deportation of the illegal parents would put undue hardship on the children holds as much weight as child who has parents who will be going to jail for an extended period of time. I.e., should the state refuse to send people to jail because it would present an undue hardship on their children?

As a taxpayer, I'd be happy to spring for an extra bus ticket to get the kid back to Mexico with his parents.

You want to deport american citizens too?

 

[babylon5]

Anchor babies should be able to stay. Angelina Jolie, Madonna will adopt the anchor orphans, so no burden on taxpayers on their school, hospital bills.

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit

Originally posted by: ahurtt

Originally posted by: 1EZduzit

Originally posted by: Genx87
This is nothing new really, churches, especially Catholic ones (i know, I am Catholic before anybody calls me a bigot again) work on bringing over immigrants from other countries so we can pay for them.

This is also what the media doesnt discuss, the religious left.

It's the church leadership, they support illegal Mexicans because they're predominately, if not all, catholic.

Yeah and so is Tony Soprano. I guess that makes him a pretty stand-up guy, huh?

What are you talking about?

The hipocrisy of using the church/religion to delude oneself into thinking they are a good person. Oh I'm wearing a cross on my neck so I'm a good person. It's ok if I break the law, God will understand. Everybody is wrong about me. I really am a good person.

For half of them I bet seeking sanctuary is the only time they ever set foot in a church.