Anti-Immigrant Hardliners Declare War on the Clergy

By Wendy Feliz Sefsaf, Immigration Impact. Posted October 15, 2009.

Nativist groups are pulling an old strategy out of their play book as they attack members of the clergy. This tired exercise includes identifying a constituency that is in support of solving our nation’s immigration problems (currently the religious community), coordinating with other like-minded groups to disseminate faulty arguments (this time using the bible to condemn immigrants), claiming to be acting in the name of someone other than your self (in this case the American worker), and finally going after them with all the fervor you can muster to convince them that the bible preaches against helping strangers, that leaving the status quo in place is good for American workers and see how many spiritual leaders you can peel off.

The fact of the matter is, these restrictionist groups will do and say just about anything to stop progress towards immigration reform—but their latest attempts to divide people do not stop at the parish door. Attempting to turn the religious community against immigrants is ironic given that communities of faith have been at the forefront of fighting for immigrants rights for many years. At a time when xenophobia and angry rhetoric aimed at immigrants has become rampant, Catholics, Lutherans, Evangelicals, Jews, and Muslims have and continue to stand up for immigrants—even when many other groups do not.

Another shortcoming with restrictionist strategy is the claim that they are standing up for the American worker. Number one, they have no track record of ever doing so. Number two, the commitment by labor unions like SEIU and AFL-CIO to work towards immigration reform shows that the real defenders of the American worker are already on board for change.

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