illegals - How to fight religious leaders who support lawbreakers

From: Jim Robb NumbersUSA  Sent: Wednesday, October 14, 2009

"I am appalled to see my church denomination [support amnesty]! Surely this action was taken in a hasty and not well-thought-out manner. Where was the input from members? I had never heard that our leaders were going to vote on this issue and then, even worse, side with Senator Schumer in advocating amnesty for the millions who are taking over our country illegally."

Grace K. of Kansas

NumbersUSA Leads Effort to Call National Church Leaders Back from Pro-Amnesty Stance Opposed by Members in Pews!

This is Jim again, speaking for the NumbersUSA team. I'm pretty steamed right now. Looks like Grace from Kansas is unhappy as well. And if you've been reading our NumbersUSA newsletters, alerts, and blogs over the last week, you're probably upset too.

I have some new information for you, plus some things you can do about it.

Yesterday, Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) held a mass rally on the Capitol's West Lawn to present the outline of his new mass amnesty / weak enforcement bill. Of course, his proposed legislation includes a path to citizenship for most of the illegal aliens currently in the U.S. Earlier this year, Gutierrez barnstormed the country, speaking to dozens of churches, arguing for more immigration and amnesty.

According to Gutierrez, granting amnesty to illegal aliens is the righteous, merciful, and just thing to do. To hear it from Gutierrez, entering America illegally is practically a civil right!

What about America's tens of millions of unemployed, who must compete with illegal aliens for jobs and scarce social services? Where's the compassion for these people? Hundreds of NumbersUSA members have written to me recently telling me they've been laid off. Anyone care about them?

You probably already know that many American church groups have recently been stampeded into endorsing a mass illegal alien amnesty.   National church leaders are in near unanimous agreement that amnesty is wonderful. However, most rank-and-file church members seem strongly opposed to amnesty.
Why do I say that most church members oppose amnesty? Because about 85% of Americans are either actual church members or identify with an organized religion. That's the bulk of all Americans. But polls show that only 26% of Americans favor amnesty. So as you can see, most church members must actually oppose amnesty.

Even without their members support, last week the National Association of Evangelicals climbed on the amnesty bandwagon. Lots of churches belong to NAE, including the Assemblies of God, the Church of the Nazarene, and the Salvation Army. (Not on board are the Southern Baptists, Mormons, and various independent churches.) The Catholic Bishops had earlier endorsed amnesty, followed by various Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, and Episcopal groups. Most major Jewish groups have also jumped on the amnesty bandwagon.

Last week, these religious groups testified before a Senate committee asking for a "comprehensive" immigration bill with a mass amnesty and weak enforcement.

Like many (but certainly not all) of you receiving this email, I am a church member. I'm taking it very seriously. But we Americans generally dislike religious leaders dictating political issues to us, especially when we're not consulted. We like it even less when church leaders troop up to Capitol Hill, stating or implying that they are speaking on behalf of their members.

Aren't you glad that NumbersUSA is here to warn the country when Open Borders people try something like this? Without NumbersUSA, the churches may have misrepresented their churches without too much opposition from their own members. NumbersUSA made sure the phones at churches' headquarters are ringing off the hook.

Special Note: Our opponents, the open-borders lobby, has practically unlimited resources. We must represent you with a tiny fraction of their funding. NumbersUSA is uniquely dependent on first-time donors. If you have never had a chance to help financially, and you have a job, could you toss in a few dollars? Thanks.

Based on how NumbersUSA members reacted when they heard the news, church leaders may be getting an education about what their members really think.  Look at what Charles wrote in response to Roy's first blog on this matter:

"These religious groups or NAE do not speak for me. I believe in being compassionate to the 15 million American citizens and legal immigrants who are out of work. I believe we need to be compassionate to all people when applicable. I do agree that these churches can hear the cash registers ringing, cha-ching $$ and cha-ching $$, at the thoughts of having all of these new illegal members with extra American dollars."

Charles G. of Alabama

Robert, would you like to actually DO SOMETHING about this problem of America's churches taking a pro-amnesty stance?

1) Study Roy's advice on how to respond to your church.
2) Take our one minute religion survey. This will help us tell you which religious leaders you should contact, and how you can do so. (Please, please do this. It's critical.)
3) Make a donation to NumbersUSA if you can afford to do so. (Frankly, we cannot be your champion on issues like this without steady, generous financial support from a large portion of our members. If you can afford to help, we need your help! Our unique 2-for-1 gift matching program kicks in again this month. Your gifts go even further, so please give today.)

Kathleen of North Carolina is certainly angry:

"It is indeed shameful that these supposed 'religious leaders' are unwilling to even consider the enormous harm that has come to Americans as a result of illegal immigration. Essentially what they are saying is that they could care less, and that American citizens don't count. This means to me that their agenda is purely political and has little or nothing to do with true biblical teachings. Religion is again being hijacked for a political cause.

"Where is the justice and compassion for the many millions of Americans, especially our young, our minorities, our poor, who cannot get jobs or have lost their jobs due to competition for low-skilled jobs by illegal aliens? They have families too. But to them, they are seemingly non-existent."

Kathleen D. of North Carolina

These were just a few of the responses we got to our recent coverage of churches endorsing amnesty. Will you be like Charles, Grace, and Kathleen above and help us fight back against their thoughtlessness?
2-For-1 Match Offer Back in Effect:  Since our new fiscal year began October 1, our unique 2-for-1 matching program goes back into effect.  Under this campaign, generous, wealthy donors are standing by this month to match each gift 2 for 1! Because of IRS regulations and private rules, these large donors are limited in how much they can give NumbersUSA. So when smaller donors make a gift, these wealthy donors are able to double-match the gift.  That does this 2-for-1 match mean? or every $10 you send us, we can raise another $20.  For every $25, we get another $50.  And for every $100 gift, the large donors are standing by to add an additional $200!  The 2-for-1 match is good for any donation you make by on-line, postal or phoned-in credit card donation, by postal check, by or by PayPal.

(To discuss any of this directly with me, send emails to JimRobb@NumbersUSA.com. We are listening to you!)

KEEP THE FAITH, AND NEVER GIVE UP!
JIM ROBB, Vice President, Operations, NumbersUSA, JimRobb@NumbersUSA.com

P.S. LOOK AT THIS, PLEASE: If you are ill, unemployed, or living on a small fixed income, please do not contribute. We only ask for help from those able to help.

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