praying on the immigrants

The churches in this area have long been known to prey on society's weakest. There are occasional stories in the local newspaper about how the homeless (growing in Dallas at 15% last year) are subjected to religious ceremonies while they're getting a meal. Most of the homeless feel they have no alternative but to tolerate it, as the hidden cost to be paid.

Job seekers will find many gatherings during the week - almost always in churches - where they can discuss job leads, at the cost of not-so-subtle Bible stories (to illustrate a point, of course) or more blatant public prayers. Job seekers who wish to avoid the religious angle will be forced to fend for themselves, mostly.

Likewise, I found it interesting to see that the non-Catholic churches are reaching out to the Latino community to offer free ESL [English as a Second Language] classes, in addition to the more common "Church in Spanish". While on the first take, you make think it's because they're trying to serve the community, it's probably more self-preservation than anything else.

TANSTAAFL: There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch

The churches which promote these events want the immigrant's money, pure and simple. Each week, they'll make pleas (subtle at first) that the newcomer should join their church and then - like protection money extorted by gangsters - coax them into turning over 10% of what they earn to The Church, thus ensuring the church's continued domination over the membership, not to mention its very existence.

If the immigrants can't (or won't) make their voluntary contribution ("tithe"), what are the odds that a phone call to ICE [La Migra] will have them on a bus back to Guatemala by morning?

It's also amusing to see that some churches are more savvy than others, translating their signs into Spanish:

to placate the locals, they printed the top line en Inglés	the wrong way - although the 3 stars are a cute touch

It's also interesting to note that they get away with not asking about the immigration status - since that's far secondary to the money.

I recently read an article that money being shipped back home has mostly stayed flat, even though there are more illegals here now than ever. The inference is that each immigrant is sending less money back than before. It's only logical to assume that part of that money is going to The Gringo Churches, sí?