Saturday, May 06, 2006
Immigration debate splits Christian right
Religious conservatives bared their internal struggles over immigration Thursday at an unusually frank public debate, demonstrating that the most powerful faction of the Republican Party is as divided as the party itself on the issue.
Torn between the values of Christian compassion and a disapproval of lawbreaking -- with an undercurrent of angst about cultural change -- social conservatives and their political allies squared off in the face of internal polls that show their "values voters" overwhelmingly prefer strong border security.
The Family Research Council, which sponsored Thursday's debate, surveyed its members earlier this month and found that by a ratio of 9 to 1, they believe illegal immigrants should be "detected, arrested and returned to their country of origin."
The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez of Sacramento, head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said he was concerned by a new Pew Hispanic Center poll released Wednesday that found two-thirds of white evangelicals consider new immigrants to be a burden and a threat to American culture.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/04/28/MNGAJIGCAL42.DTL
New Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Call regular phones from your PC and save big.
Torn between the values of Christian compassion and a disapproval of lawbreaking -- with an undercurrent of angst about cultural change -- social conservatives and their political allies squared off in the face of internal polls that show their "values voters" overwhelmingly prefer strong border security.
The Family Research Council, which sponsored Thursday's debate, surveyed its members earlier this month and found that by a ratio of 9 to 1, they believe illegal immigrants should be "detected, arrested and returned to their country of origin."
The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez of Sacramento, head of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, said he was concerned by a new Pew Hispanic Center poll released Wednesday that found two-thirds of white evangelicals consider new immigrants to be a burden and a threat to American culture.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/04/28/MNGAJIGCAL42.DTL
New Yahoo! Messenger with Voice. Call regular phones from your PC and save big.
