Immigration

Faith communities from coast to coast will hold events in 15 U.S. cities this month to demand a change in the country’s immigration policies, which they call broken and inhumane.

“We are in a dark period in our country on the issue of immigration,” said the Bishop John C. Wester of the Archdiocese of Salt Lake City during a teleconference Tuesday to launch the national movement. “Instead of moving forward with reform of our broken immigration system, our current national immigration policy consists of a series of work site enforcement raids that accomplish little if anything to solve the problem of illegal immigration.”

Wester, who is also the chair of the Committee on Migration and Refugee Services for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, criticized the raid tactic for the separation of families, dislocation of immigrant communities, and the victimization of U.S. permanent residents and citizens, including children. more >>

Iowa faith leaders are calling for immigration reform laws that would treat immigrant workers humanely in response to recent incidents involving immigrant workers in the state.

The bishops and clergies participating in a recent tele-press conference denounced what they called a troubling pattern of worker exploitation and disregard for immigrant families around the state.

Specifically, they pointed to the government raid on a meatpacking plant in Postville, Iowa, and the abuse of clean-up crews recently brought in to help with flood recovery. more >>

Everyone knows where Flor Crisostomo lives, even the federal immigration officials who have ordered her deported to Mexico. The reason they haven't detained her is her address - Adalberto United Methodist Church.

Another woman famously took refuge in that church as she championed immigration reform, and at least 13 other illegal immigrants are doing the same at churches around the country. So far, they have little to fear.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have arrested illegal immigrants by the hundreds in raids at factories, restaurants, malls, farms and meat packing plants, but they have handled cases involving churches delicately. more >>

Imagine my surprise when I recently discovered that Southern Baptists had been called out in a guest editorial in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on the issue of immigration (Southern Baptists: Push immigration reform, Sept. 9, 2007).

I am happy that Sean McKenzie, author of the opinion piece, noted the Southern Baptist Convention adopted a resolution on the crisis of illegal immigration at their annual meeting in Greensboro, N.C., in June 2006.

The resolution, among other things, called for: more >>

A Southern California church that is sheltering an illegal immigrant and her U.S.-born infant son will be billed nearly $40,000 for the police presence needed there this past weekend, officials said.

More than a hundred activists from both sides of the illegal immigration debate had faced off Sunday outside the United Church of Christ in Simi Valley, Calif., resulting in the injury of at least one person who was attacked with a chemical spray.

Mayor Paul Miller, who called the church’s congregants irresponsible for "harboring an illegal immigrant," told the City Council Monday that he was ready to issue the $39,306 invoice right away. more >>