Originally Posted by Jennifer:
Invic, I meant to ask you in my previous post what you thought about the churches giving sanctuary to illegals. Any thoughts?
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My personal thought, yesterday I would have joined an army to run all illegals
out of America, today,,,I just don't care.
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Churches Offering Sanctuary To Illegal Immigrants
"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
(CBS13) LOS ANGELES Churches in five big U.S. cities plan to protect illegal
immigrants from deportation, offering sanctuary if need be, as they pressure
lawmakers to create a path to citizenship for the nation's estimated 12 million
illegal immigrants.
Beginning yesterday, a Catholic church in Los Angeles and a Lutheran church in
North Hollywood each intend to shelter 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, where one illegal immigrant
will live.
Organizers 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 if 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
http://www.newsanctuarymovemen...sAngelesMay92007.pdf
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