Help for immigrants divides congregations

He doesn't speak Spanish and has no idea what America should do about illegal immigration, but Rev. Larry Kreps knows he's now on a list somewhere of people willing to help illegal immigrants in a time of crisis.

It started out small enough. Months ago, a member of Kreps' suburban Ohio congregation was looking for a place where local Hispanics could meet, and Kreps offered some space at John Wesley United Methodist Church. A Sunday school lesson on immigration followed in August.

Days later, with just a phone call for warning, dozens of desperate immigrants fleeing a massive raid on a nearby poultry plant turned up on the church's doorstep, seeking sanctuary.

Kreps let them in, and members of his overwhelmingly white congregation sprang into action. Some brought food, some set up space in the gym and a choir room for the immigrants to sleep.

"Someone slipped me $100 to buy stuff," Kreps recalled as he stood in the now-quiet church kitchen where the meals were prepared. It was a tense night as scared families and Kreps himself worried police or federal agents might come knocking.

"I wasn't real clear legally whether authorities could come into a place of worship," he said. "But we saw it as 'What would Jesus do?' in the simplest way -- that you help first and you ask questions later."

But helping illegal immigrants has become an unpopular business in America. On the presidential campaign trail, Republican and Democratic candidates alike have backed down from any previous support for illegal immigrants, and ordinary Americans are treading just as carefully in the face of a growing backlash against the 12 million people here illegally.

Question: What is the proper role of churches in the illegal alien crisis?

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