MILLION+ PROTESTERS TURN OUT FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS NATIONWIDE

by Ana Laura del Toro and Lisa Vives

(IPS) NEW YORK -- Faith -based groups around the United States are speaking out against an anti-immigrant bill in a new display of activism by the religious community.

Dozens of Roman Catholic, Methodist, Episcopalian and other church leaders were among the million plus protesters who filled the streets from coast to coast in a Mar. 25 rally against the bill.

In downtown Los Angeles Saturday, somewhere between a half-million and a million people surged into the streets, startling even organizers of the rally of what is being called the largest political demonstration in Los Angeles history.

In Denver, Colorado, more than 50,000 people gathered downtown at Civic Center Park to urge rejection of a ballot issue that would deny many government services to illegal immigrants in that state.

Between 5,000 and 7,000 people gathered Saturday in Charlotte, North Carolina, carrying signs with slogans such as "Am I Not a Human Being?"

And in Sacramento California, more than 4,000 people protested immigration legislation at an annual march honoring the late farm labor leader Cesar Chavez. Dozens of other marches were reported around the country, including Phoenix, Arizona, and Queens, New York.

The proposed legislation, which has passed in the House and is up for a vote by the Senate, would make it a crime to help undocumented immigrants stay in the U.S. It would require churches and other social organizations to ask immigrants for legal documentation before providing assistance.

But the bill appears headed for determined opposition from unexpected quarters. Church groups nationwide have been quietly mounting a religious response to the growing decibels of anti-immigrant rhetoric, mostly by Republican lawmakers.

"The war on terror isn't going to be won through immigration restrictions," declared Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, leader of the largest archdiocese in the U.S. with five million Catholics, as he called on church leaders and members to defy the bill if it becomes law.

"It is staggering for the federal government to stifle our spiritual and pastoral outreach to the poor, and to impose penalties for doing what our faith demands of us," Mahony said.

Organising among church groups in June 2004 took a major step forward when the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Migration and the Catholic Legal Immigration Network's board of directors resolved to make immigration reform, with special emphasis on legalization, a major public policy priority within the Church.

A "Justice for Immigrants: A Journey of Hope campaign" was launched by a diverse group of Catholic organizations with national networks and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

"We can no longer accept a situation in which some public officials and members of our communities scapegoat immigrants at the same time our nation benefits from their labor. We can no longer tolerate the death of human beings in the desert," said Bishop James A. Tamayo of the Diocese of Laredo at a recent prayer vigil for immigration reform.

"For the Church... to walk in solidarity with newcomers to our country is to live out our catholicity as a Church. What we want is immigration reform that finds a way to assist those who have come across [the border] and been productive citizens," said Rev. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, which represents mainstream Christian denominations.

"We are facing now, in this country, a legislative battle over how we are going to respond to immigrants and migrants," said Richard Parkins, director of Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM.)

"The Episcopal Church and faith communities around the country have been very outspoken about wanting immigration reform that recognizes the need which people to the south, because of grinding poverty, have to take advantage of economic opportunities in this country and to be treated humanely and fairly. At the same time we are dealing with other voices that are becoming increasingly more restrictive in their attitudes towards the stranger."

The executive council of the Episcopal Church, meeting Mar. 6-9 in Philadelphia, declared "strong opposition" to any legislation that would make it unlawful for faith-based organizations to relieve "the suffering of undocumented immigrants..."

"Churches all over America are standing up to decry this legislation because it has largely been pushed through without the usual kind of public input," said Lucas Guttentag, director of the Immigrants Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. "There are all kinds of radical consequences being written into the law that, although ostensibly are not aimed at churches, leave these kinds of groups hugely vulnerable, and [those consequences] need to be carefully looked at," he said.

The Senate bills' enforcement provisions stop short of criminalising those in the country illegally. They also include provisions that would permit illegal immigrants to apply to regularise their status, allow for the admission of temporary workers and make it easier for families to be reunited.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, is pushing for the bill to come to the Senate floor by the end of March.

The new religious activism from the former base of Republican support is drawing fire from some conservative Republicans.

"This is the left wing of the Catholic Church -- these are the frustrated social workers," said Peter King (R-NY) who described himself as a practicing Catholic. "They're giving an incentive for more illegals to come here. I don't think it's right."

Church leadership also came in for harsh words on "The O'Reilly Factor" on the Fox News Channel.

Leo Anchondo, who directs the immigrant campaign on behalf of the Catholic Conference of Bishops, said the cardinals and bishops were not surprized there was a backlash against such efforts.

"Immigration has unfortunately become a very controversial topic," he said.

But Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington said he and other leaders decided they could not stay silent after witnessing the hardships endured by illegal immigrants, particularly as the wave from Latin America has surged. "This is a justice issue," he said. "We feel you have to take care of people."

There are an estimated 37 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., according to the Pew Hispanic Center.

Other religious groups who oppose asylum changes in this bill include the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, and World Relief, a program of the National Association of Evangelicals. Organizers say that further nationwide demonstrations are planned on the issue for Apr. 10.