And, to top it off—you, the US taxpayer, most likely footed a large portion of the bill!
Take a minute and go to a post we wrote last spring (Don’t break our rice bowls! see their lavish Baltimore office building) about the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (one of the nine major federal refugee contractors***) which was the ring leader of the event in Washington last week. Out of approximately $31.5 million in annual income, $30 million is from government grants and contracts, in other words, from you. Their CEO (photo below) makes over $200,000 in salary and benefits.
I have it from a good source that the average Lutheran in America has no clue about what their leaders are doing.
Here is the story from Religion News Service:
WASHINGTON, DC April. 4, 2014 – 42 Lutheran leaders visited lawmakers Wednesday on Capitol Hill and at the White House, calling for virtuous and compassionate immigration reform. From the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Latvian Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Lutheran ministry organizations, they emphasized that as people of faith, they are called to welcome the sojourner and walk alongside migrants and refugees as they rebuild their lives in the United States.
The leaders had face-to-face conversations with more than 20 members of Congress, including House and Senate leadership and members of Congress who are themselves Lutheran. They also met with staff at nearly 70 congressional offices, sharing stories of how our nation’s broken immigration system affects their congregations and communities by creating a culture of fear and leaving children without parents. The meetings were part of the annual Lutheran Immigration Leadership Summit, hosted by Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS).
The US has an “unjust immigration system,” they told the White House:
A group of ten leaders also met with the President’s Domestic Policy Council and the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships at the White House. A letter was delivered to President Obama after the meeting, signed by 37 of the leaders. The letter thanked President Obama for his leadership on immigration reform and for reviewing immigration enforcement. However, it also called on President Obama to “ease the pain caused by unnecessarily high rates of detention and deportation.” They wrote: “we urge you to alleviate the hardships and separation experienced by families caught up in our unjust immigration system.”
Here (and below) is the text of the letter they delivered to the White House. If you are a Lutheran who disagrees with your church leadership for pushing amnesty and advocating for no detention for most illegal migrants, click here to see which leaders of your church signed the letter.
April 2, 2014
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear President Obama:
As people of faith, we pray and call for immigration policies that keep families together, protect individuals forced from their homelands or fleeing persecution, and value the great gift immigrants are to our churches, communities and nation.
On behalf of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS) and the undersigned leaders from the Lutheran Immigration Leadership Summit and the communities we represent, thank you for today’s meeting with staff from your Domestic Policy Council and the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships and for your willingness to hear our concerns.
We join the cry of the prophet Amos: “…let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
We lift our voices in speaking to members of the House and Senate, and to your Administration. Compassionate immigration reform must become the law of the land. Every day without action does harm to families, to communities, and to our nation.
We were encouraged by your announcement that you will review immigration enforcement practices. We believe that such a review is long overdue. While we await legislative action on just, compassionate and comprehensive immigration reform, we are counting on your Administration to exercise its authority to bring about an end to the excessive detention and deportation of immigrants by providing for:
*Broader and increased use of prosecutorial discretion at all points of law enforcement decision-making to reduce harmful enforcement practices and family separation.
*An end to the arbitrary use of detention and to the detention of vulnerable migrants such as asylum seekers and survivors of torture, and true access to justice.
*Increased availability of community-based alternatives to detention that do not unnecessarily deprive individuals of their freedom and for migrants who are neither a danger to the community nor a flight risk.
Today, we and fellow Lutheran leaders are meeting with Congressional leaders to call for swift immigration reform that reflects our American values and the calling of our faith to love and serve our neighbors. We yearn for a nation that honors the contributions that new and aspiring Americans make to our society and economy, and we long for immigration policies that strengthen families within our borders.
You, as President, can ease the pain caused by unnecessarily high rates of detention and deportation. While we appreciate your leadership on comprehensive immigration reform, we urge you to alleviate the hardships and separation experienced by families caught up in our unjust immigration system. We pray that you follow this way of justice, and by doing so, show the positive impact that stabilizing migrant communities can have of all of us.
Yours in faith,
Here is an article about one of the Lutheran leaders excellent adventure in Washington.
*** The federal gravy train steams on! If the Senate version of Comprehensive Immigration Reform should become law, the contractors, including LIRS, will be in line for MORE federal grants to provide “services” to the millions of newly amnestied. They will be contracted to get the “new Americans” set up on welfare, help them find jobs, get them micro-loans to start businesses, teach them English etc. There are even federal grants to teach the immigrants how to have healthy marriages!