If you are opposed to the DREAM ACT you will now be put in an extremist corner to the right of the Southern Baptist Convention. While I'd like to think this is just the positive side of conservative Christianity, I also believe this is a shrewd political move by the SBC. The SBC is the largest protestant denomination in the country. They are also the most politically influential with conservatives, but I also believe the SBC is proving itself more politically adept than the Tea Party Republicans at this point. This move will help the SBC stay relevant in years to come as demographics continue to shift. Nonetheless this is great news for those DREAMers. The dam should break on this issue soon.
A Southern Baptist Convention leader says the group's policy arm supports a "clean" version of the DREAM Act -- a proposed law that would allow illegal immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children to earn legal status, either by going to college or serving in the military.
Demonstrators rally for the DREAM Act in San Jose, Calif., on Wednesday.
Richard Land, president of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, made the statement in a Monday letter to Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, who are the chairman and ranking member, respectively, of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security.
Land wrote that his commission could support the DREAM Act, with conditions. One condition would be making sure the bill does not allow young adults who gain legal status to help their relatives gain legal status or enter the country. He called such a measure "back-door amnesty."
In explaining the commission's position to the subcommittee, Land wrote: "The children of undocumented immigrants who were brought here by their parents should not be forced to bear the full penalty of their presence in the nation illegally. To consign them to lives often-times bordering on poverty levels for actions in which they had no part is too severe a penalty."
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This is a strong signal to the Republican Party. I don't know if this means we'll get real action this year, but this should nail down Republican support on the issue. The Wall Street arm of the GOP is already on board, now the religious arm is on board. I am not going to start singing the praises of the SBC. It remains a homophobic and misogynistic organization. But I welcome them to this fight.
2:23 PM PT: There are some concerns of this being a hoax like the earlier marriage equality declaration. However, if you read the AP article link, the AP interviewed Richard Land for this article. This is also consistent with their declaration earlier this year at their Phoenix convention when they adopted a call for immigration reform.
2:23 PM PT: Rec list. Thanks.