Society's position on illegal aliens

by sir82 24 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  sir82

  One of the things that has always irked me is the Society's position on illegal aliens.

  Paraphrasing a US BOE letter (can't remember the date, not a recent one though), elders were instructed that they are not "policemen", not responsible for enforcing "Caesar's laws". So, if there are any illegal aliens in the congregation, elders do not report them to any authority. No (congregational) disciplanary action at all is taken against them.

  However, illegal aliens are not "Exemplary", in that they are knowingly breaking Caesar's laws. Thus, per the letter, they are not "qualified" for "privileges of service" such as being an elder, MS, pioneer, or aux. pioneer. Brothers are not even able to pray for the congregation.

  But, the letter does go on to specify particular "privileges" that such ones are entitled to. They can comment at meetings, give talks 2, 3, or 4 in the School, and of course share in field service.

  On a fairly recent visit by the CO, the elders were told that as of now, illegal aliens are welcome, nay encouraged, to work on quick-build Kingdom Hall construction projects, a "privilege" previously reserved for "exemplary publishers". So, as a side note, you can see that the pool of persons available for such projects has dwindled.

  This always made me quite uncomfortable--elders in Spanish-language US congregations are fully aware of precisely who in the congregation is "legal" vs. "illegal" (so they know who they can appoint as elder, pioneer, etc.), yet do nothing to encourage such ones to clear up their status. It seems to be a rather tacit approval of breaking the law.

  Anyone else see this as rather, er, inconsistent?
• 

  minimus

  "Theocratic war strategy" is also inconsistent. The Watchtowerites are jugglers.
• 

  undercover

  Yep, I was part of a congregation that shared a hall with a Spanish speaking congregation. Over 50 percent of the men in the Spanish hall were illegal aliens. The elders knew it, hell, we all knew it.

  It was asked by several in our cong. what was the procedure for dealing with the illegal brothers. We got the same answer you got. They couldn't be MS or elder but were encouraged to do everything else. Their illegal status was not a cause for any other worry.

  The reason, I think, is because the only real growth in our part of the country was from the immigrants to the area. If the WTS were to insist that illegal aliens report or go home or whatever, the growth rate would drop dramatically.
• 

  minimus

  There would just be more Witnesses living in Mexico, that's all.
• 

  SwordOfJah

  -> yet do nothing to encourage such ones to clear up their status.

  This statement is not true. Spanish elders are constantly encouraging publishers that are illegal aliens to submit their paperwork and to look for opportunities to get their papers in order. You think those publishers here illegally would not love to get their papers in order? Even President Bush criticized the INS for the way they process paper work. I'll give you a rediculous example, a publisher qualified to receive full legality in the country. He applied and waited and waited and waited...8 years later this publisher passed away never receiving his legality. Then 5 years after his death, his family receives a letter from the INS accepting his application to be legalized. Also, it depends from what country you originate on how easy or difficult it is to get legalized. The INS holds a lottery every year giving the opportunity at legality, but if you are from Mexico, El Salvador, or Colombia as examples, you are not allowed to participate in this lottery system. The only loop holes available to some illegal aliens are to marry a U.S. citizen, but even now that is difficult to do. Many US citizens are being forced to live abroad for many years while their spouses paperwork is processed at turtle speed. Elders would love to utilize many publishers in this situation as many of them are very zelous in the preaching work. Most of them become JW's after crossing over to the US as illegal aliens. It would be easy for one to counsel them to go back to their countries, but that is easier said than done. For us that have had the opportunity to live in these "third-world" countries, we understand what these people go through to feed their families.
• 

  love2Bworldly

  It figures that the loving brothers would try to get free labor by encouraging such ones to do quick builds.
• 

  freedom96

  I think the WTS really just doesn't care where you are from as long as you go to meetings and out in service, and keep their numbers up.
• 

  Panda

  Aliens! I thought that was Scientology
• 

  willyloman

  The WTS has a long, sordid history of winking at misconduct in Mexico, so why should this be any different? Now, if there are any illegal aliens from MALAWI in the congo they are totally screwed.
• 

  sir82

  SwordofJah,

  Evidently your experience is different than mine. In my area, one's immigration status is virtually a taboo subject. When a new person moves in, the elders tiptoe as gently as possible to determine his status, then never mention it again.

  In this area (US Southeast), there are a lot of immigrants who were JWs before they left their home country. Perhaps immigration status is rarely talked about because such ones are quite aware, and quite uncomfortable, with their "reduced privileges" due to not following immigration protocol. Some, even ex-elders, have gone so far as to purchase duplicate Social Security numbers so as to more easily attain employment, mortgages, etc.

  There are many "capable brothers" among the undocumented aliens, who would be appointed as elders in a heartbeat if their paperwork were in order. Obviously, the elders would love to be able to do so. But in many cases, it is not possible to do so, so the topic is never mentioned.