Folks who’ve been on this list for any length of time know that this is probably the first time anything like this has been reported here.
We’ve had illegals harbored by churches and illegals given aid by church groups - I’ve never heard, though, of churches wherein illegal aliens carry out church business under church protection/sanction.
I agree. The bald statement of the lengths gone to in order to circumvent the law is eyebrow raising, to say the least.
The "Theocracy of Utah" is a US state in name only. It is not unusual to see laws bent and stretched to the benefit of the LDS church there. It is common practice for the legislators and LDS leaders to meet and discuss impending legislation. From the LDS church-owned Deseret news, LDS Church leaders have told legislative bosses that the "element of humanity" should be re-introduced to the state's immigration debates.
Before each general session, GOP and Democratic leaders in the House and Senate sit down separately with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints special affairs committee, a group made up of church general authorities, church public relations officials and their lobbyists, to discuss any items on the minds of both legislators and church leaders.
House Minority Whip David Litvack, D-Salt Lake, said the Democrats' meeting with church officials brought up several issues, but the immigration discussion was the most touching for him personally.
"I interpreted what was said as this: 'Take a step back, be calm, and above all remember that we are dealing with human beings here,"' said Litvack, who is Jewish and has himself called for cooler heads in dealing with the often emotional issue of illegal immigration. House Majority Leader Dave Clark, R-Santa Clara, a member of the LDS Church himself, said immigration issues did not take up much time in the Republicans' meeting with church leaders. "But they did say we all need to approach this subject with compassion."
When asked about the legislative meetings, church spokesman Rob Howe said, "We communicated our policy ... The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has taken no position regarding currently proposed immigration legislation."