Clergy urges Illegals to refuse to answer the US Census
By estherlou
@estherlou (5015)
United States
March 17, 2010 10:36am CST
PHOENIX - The National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders is urging illegal immigrants not to fill out the U.S. Census forms that are starting to arrive in mailboxes.
The coalition's chairman, the Reverend Miguel Rivera, says illegal immigrants should boycott the census unless comprehensive immigration reform offers them a path to citizenship.
The census attempts to count everyone -- regardless of legal status -- so that more government money can flow to areas with large populations. The Census Bureau says residents are required by law to participate, and insists that the information it collects is confidential.
But Rivera doesn't trust those assurances, and says more than 3 million members of his coalition's 20,000 churches plan to boycott this year's census.
He says 38 percent of the church members and one-sixth of their pastors
are illegal immigrants. http://www.onenewsnow.com/Legal/Default.aspx?id=938880
WOW!38% of his members are ILLEGAL? And one-sixth of their pastors are ILLEGAL? Sounds like Phoeniz has a problem.
2 people like this
10 responses
@ronaldinu (12422)
• Malta
17 Mar 10
I don't think that this is right. If surveys have to be filled and it is the law of the country, than why is the clergy asking their faithful not to fill in the questionnaire? If it was something against their belief I would understand it. But filling in a questionnaire does not go against anyone set's of belief? There does not seem to be a valid reason behind all this. Asking their faithful to disobey and boycott this year's census does not make any sense to me at all.
1 person likes this
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
17 Mar 10
I'm waiting for the Ba'ha'i (spelling?) Faith people in my area to protest the census. It is against their beliefs-some of them- to answer that they are any race except the human race (at least that is what I've been told by some). So I think they will be writing in human and I'm interested in what the census says about that.
@Fastlane1 (77)
• United States
17 Mar 10
I don't see why they would do that. Illegal immigrants's information isn't supposed be used with the immigration department. The information that is to be picked up under this census is completely confidential; therefore, It can't be used by anyone. Illegals immigrants should definitely fill it out so we can know how many there really are.
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
17 Mar 10
What I don't understand is that he essentially says the census is putting the illegals at risk. Isn't having this article published a bigger threat?
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
17 Mar 10
I would think telling the world by newspaper that you and a bunch of other people in your church are illegal would make the next service targeted for a raid on the church.
@writersedge (22563)
• United States
17 Mar 10
So I agree with you, Sedel, the person telling the newspaper that was asking for trouble.
@Lakota12 (42600)
• United States
17 Mar 10
Trash Queen,
Yup hurts every one we take in more poeple than anyone looks like some other country could take some of them too dont ya think?
Poeple put the illeagles to work for they work for less butt henm that puts our people out of work or less jobs and no telling how many epeople that lost jobs over a year ago or longer that cant find jobs and can no longer draw unemplyment!
@TrashQueen (107)
• United States
17 Mar 10
Whether or not they are legal isn't the issue. The gov't wants to know how MANY people are here. That says how fast the population is growing - legally or illegally. By knowing the past growth, they can extrapolate the growth for future building projects like roads, water systems, power systems etc.
Also, by knowing how many people live in a general area, the fed gov't can allocate funds for subsidies. If Phoenix shows X million people that's the funding they are going to get, even though that number is 1/2 what the population really is. So everyone suffers.. legal & illegal alike.
The illegal alien issue is a grave one. 10.8% of the local population here is reportedly unemployed & I don't know if that includes those on unemployment only or if it includes those who don't qualify for unemployment but still don't have jobs. Yet all the illegal Haitians who were here prior to the earthquakes have been given a special status that allows them to stay & work... taking jobs from legal citizens.
And the Dade County (Miami, FL) public health care system operates several hospitals spread throughout the county. They have been all over the news lately with a $240 million loss when they expected $40 million. Yet more & more injured Haitians from the earthquake are being brought to Jackson for treatment.
I'm not saying I'm against it because I do understand they are human; they are suffering; & there is no relief in their own country. But offering aid to them is causing our own people to suffer more Obviously not as much as the Haitians... but they are worse off now than before we started helping the earthquake victims.
@scarlet_woman (23463)
• United States
19 Mar 10
i don't trust it,and i'm a born resident.
but for phoenix,i wouldn't doubt if that figure's correct.
when i lived in tucson,some jobs more than half the workers were illegal.
they'd refill as fast as the last bunch was detained in raids.
@lilwonders456 (8214)
• United States
17 Mar 10
You know if illegals refuse to fill it out there is not a lot they can do to them...they are not citizens of this country...so therefore the laws on census do not apply to them.
As for the information being kept confidential...ya ask the Japanese Americans all about that during WW2. The Census information was used to round them up and put them camps. So our government has already proved the information is NOT confidential.
It is not only Phoenix that has a big illegal problem. A lot of cities in this country do. It is a MAJOR issue.
@desertdarlene (8910)
• United States
17 Mar 10
Wait a minute, you are saying that people who aren't citizens aren't subject to the same laws as everyone else in the country? Would you say that Americans should be subject to laws when they visit other countries? Everyone in this country, citizen, illegal, visitor, or resident alien are subject to the laws of the country. We are also obligated to treat them equally in regards to the laws, too. That's why there's so many illegals that take advantage of the emergency rooms on this side of the border. By law, the hospital has to treat all emergencies regardless of citizenship status.
Also, are you sure that the government used the census as a basis to put the Japanese Americans into camps? I truly doubt that was where they got the information. There are a lot of ways the government can get information on someone. If you've ever held a job, voted, gotten a driver's license or visited a hospital, they can get all that information from those things, too.
@desertdarlene (8910)
• United States
17 Mar 10
I hate that all these people are so against filling out this form. I mean, technically, they can give a fake name or phone number if they're that afraid. I would think that getting an accurate count of how many illegals are in the country would be helpful to their cause.
@twoey68 (13627)
• United States
17 Mar 10
In a way it doesn't surprise me b/c they are already breaking the law by being here in the first place. I think the goverment ought to head to this church and start rounding them up. Besides why should every other LEGAL citizen have to fill them out but the criminals don't have to? Deport them, deport them, deport them...and why not send the chairman right along with them since he is so helpful to them.
[b]~~AT PEACE WITHIN~~
**STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS**[/b]
@bdugas (3578)
• United States
19 Mar 10
38% wow, if they all illegal in being here in the USA, why haven't they been rounded up and sent back to where they come from? Why would an illegal person, not suppose to be in the USA to start with answer the census. I know it doesn't ask if you a citizen, but what right do they really have to be here at all. If they have children born here then they should go through the process of getting the paperwork started to become citizens and pay taxes like everyone else. So is it that if the illegal answer the form then the area will get more money to help them more. I don't get the fact that places know they there but do nothing to get them out of the country. They are called ILLEGALS, because they aren't suppose to be here, that is 38% that we are feeding when we should be feeding the kids that are legal, I'm sorry don't understand somes thinking.
@macdingolinger (10386)
• United States
17 Mar 10
Wow! Sounds like they need to make sure the money doesn't go into the areas that boycott the census. Or better than that- they could just go Home! If they are here illegally, why would we expect that they would obey our other laws and regulations?