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As immigrants and their supporters pour into the streets by the hundreds of thousands, crowding out the space for neutrality on legislation criminalizng illegal status, the big religious right organizations stay silent. When reporters ask them, they say they have no position.
Actually, the religious right leaders are in a very uncomfortable position. They are caught between their Republican allies and millions of Latino evangelicals, whose leaders are urging them to oppose the Republican bill. Moreover, at least one of the big organizations is pinned down by a creature of its own making -- its constituency.
This became clear last week, when the Family Research Council (FRC) released an "informal survey" of its supporters. Over 90% of the 8,000 respondents expressed hostile opinions about immigrants. These poll-takers took the poll during a visit to the FRC website or went to the website to take the poll in response to an email.
FRC President Tony Perkins summed up the responses in an April 13th email:
When it comes to the details of dealing with immigration it is clear that values voters believe enforcement against illegal aliens should be the main component. Ninety one percent of the respondents believe that illegal immigrants should be returned to their country of origin. Ninety two percent think that election ballots should be printed only in English. The biggest responses came though when we asked about border security. Eighty one percent of respondents believe that a fence should be built along the U.S. - Mexican border. When we asked if the United States Congress should commit sufficient funds and resources to border security to sharply reduce illegal entry into the country, 96 percent of all respondents agreed.
When it comes to immigration, there is little to distinguish the FRC poll respondents from the harsh-talking, racist denizens of right-wing talk radio.
According to the Washington Post, polls show that about two-thirds of white evangelicals consider immigrants a societal burden, compared to half of all Americans.
Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, representing over 10,000 Hispanic evangelical churches with 15 million members, pressed the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) to support legislation providing for amnesty. The NAE's membership is split on the issue, so it has not taken a stand. However, its aid agency, World Relief, has endorsed the Kennedy-McCain proposal that offers a route to legalization and citizenship.
Catholic, Jewish and Muslim groups support the amnesty legislation and many of their leaders actively supported the protests.
It remains to be seen how much the religious right groups' silence will cost them with Hispanic evangelicals who profess to be their natural allies. The Washington Post quoted Rodriguez saying "There will be church ramifications to this, and there will be political ramifications."
Letter on Immigration Deepens Split Among Evangelicals
By Alan Cooperman, The Washington Post, April 5, 2006
More than 50 evangelical Christian leaders and organizations voiced their support yesterday for an immigration bill that would allow illegal immigrants to become U.S. citizens without returning to their native countries.
The statement marks a deepening split among evangelicals over immigration. It was signed by a mixture of Hispanic and white church groups. But most of the nation's large, politically influential evangelical organizations either back rival legislation that focuses on border enforcement and the deportation of illegal immigrants, or have been silent on the issue.
Hispanic evangelical leaders said yesterday that they have received support from Roman Catholic, Jewish and Muslim groups, but have been bitterly disappointed by the response of most of their fellow evangelicals, both white and black.
"This is the watershed movement -- it's the moment where either we really forge relationships with the white evangelical church that will last for decades, or there is a possibility of a definitive schism here," said the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, which serves 10,700 Hispanic evangelical churches with 15 million members. Click here to read the report.
Hispanic evangelical offering GOP a bridge to future
Sees undocumented as potential citizens, Republican voters
By Charlie Savage, The Boston Globe, March 6, 2006
WASHINGTON -- The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez Jr., president of a group he says represents 15 million Hispanic evangelical Christians, said his fellow social conservatives are making a historic mistake. By spurning proposals to give illegal immigrants a shot at citizenship instead of deportation, they are making it easier for supporters of abortion and same-sex marriage to win elections. Continue
On Immigration Issue, Big Evangelical Groups Conspicuously Mum
Policy groups say they have other issues to focus on.
by G. Jeffrey Macdonald, Religion News Service via Christianity Today, Week of January 16, 2006
As Congress grapples with legislation regarding an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants, the nation's most powerful conservative Christian organizations have been watching from the sidelines. This occurs despite decades of evangelical initiative to make America a hospitable haven for religious and political refugees. Click here for the report.
Evangelical leaders write Bush to boost immigration reform
By John Hall, Associated Baptist Press, April 7, 2006
WASHINGTON (ABP) -- A group of evangelical leaders has written President Bush and Congress in support of an immigration bill that supports guest worker programs and citizenship for undocumented immigrants.
Albert Reyes, president of Baptist University of the Americas and past president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, was among the approximately 50 signers of the letter. It urges Bush and lawmakers to pass a border-security bill that more quickly reunites families separated by immigration rules , creates more responsive legal avenues for workers and their families who wish to immigrate to the United States legally and enables undocumented workers to become citizens. Click here
Open Letter to Evangelicals on Immigration Reform
By Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Jr., President, National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, April 2006
Dear Evangelical Leaders:
The past few months have been challenging to say the least. On behest of our constituency, we felt a moral obligation to speak on behalf of the Hispanic Evangelical church in respect to the immigration debate. In lieu of many who already declare a schism within the Evangelical church, permit me to respond accordingly;
Continue
Values Voters Survey on U.S Policy on Illegal Immigration
Family Research Council, April 2006
For the poll, Click here. To see the results, Click here
Alien Proposals
Evangelical leaders divided over moral, policy questions on immigration.
by Sarah Pulliam, Christianity Today, April 13, 2006
Divided by politics and policy, the Senate failed to pass immigration legislation before its April recess. Evangelicals have likewise struggled to reach consensus, as leaders articulated different moral priorities. Click here for the report.
Colson called abortion the root of the illegal immigration '"problem"
Media Matters, April 12, 2006
"On his daily BreakPoint radio commentary, convicted Watergate felon and Prison Fellowship Ministries founder Charles W. Colson claimed that legalized abortion created a labor shortage, forcing the United States to solicit undocumented workers from other countries to fill jobs that might have otherwise been occupied by the '40 million sacrificed since 1973' to abortion." Continue
Updates
 Voters: No Amnesty for Errant Lawmakers
Memo to "Friends of Family Research Council," from Tony Perkins, President,
May 26, 2006
The Senate passed what is termed a "comprehensive" immigration bill last night. It is incomprehensiblethat those who voted for this legislation are so out of touch with the American people. Voters will not give amnesty to lawmakers who fail to stem the tide of illegal immigration into this country. While the bill pays lip service to securing our borders, it also manages to create one of the most elaborate amnesty programs for those who enter our country illegally. Continue
On Illegal Immigration, Tell Congress: Compassion, Yes, But Security First
Family Research Council Action Alert, May 5, 2006
The Family Research Council has broken the quiet on the religious right with a letter-writing campaign to tell Congress: "restore public trust and solidarity by making it difficult to commit the crime of illegal entry into the United States. Secure our ports and borders first, and then - and only then - move forward with legal immigration reforms that serve family unity and a strong economy." Click here
FRC Discussion on Illegal Immigration
Family Research Council website, April 29, 2006
"On Thursday, an overflow audience turned out for FRC's Family Policy Panel: Faith, Culture, and Law in the Immigration Debate. Speakers included Senator Sam Brownback, Congressman Tom Tancredo, and Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, Jr. among other prominent figures. Click here for the report
Christians ask: Can you love thy neighbor but deport him, too?
By Todd J. Gillman, The Dallas Morning News, April 27, 2006
This report on a forum hosted by the religious right Family Research Council includes summaries of the positions of a range of evangelical groups, the Catholic Conference of Bishops and the Committee on American-Islamic Relations.Click here
Porous borders have led to current immigration crisis, ERLC's Land says
By Dwayne Hastings, Baptist Press, April 28, 2006
WASHINGTON (BP)--The federal government’s failure to secure the nation’s borders has sparked “severe consternation" among many Americans and precipitated the current crisis over illegal immigration, Richard Land said April 28 during a public policy discussion at the Family Research Center in Washington. He expressed concern that there has been “more heat than light" in the dialogue over this issue.
Land, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, was joined on the panel by Sen. Sam Brownback, R.-Kan.; Rep. Tom Tancredo, R.-Colo.; John O’Sullivan of the Hudson Institute; Samuel Rodriguez Jr. of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference; and others.
"We have a right to expect the government to fulfill its divinely ordained mandate to punish those who break the laws and reward those who do not," Land said, citing Romans 13:1-7, during a discussion of "Faith, Culture, and Law in the Immigration Debate." Christians, he continued, also have a "divinely mandated reason to act redemptively and compassionately toward those who are in need." Continue
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