The statistics on the left margin of your website are very mis-leading, even untrue, and it is un-Biblical to spread false facts, “Thou shall not bare false witness against thy neighbor.”

Every single illegal immigrant in every county in the US pays the EXACT same property tax (millage rate) on their living space as those who are legal. Every tax commission in every US county makes no difference in collecting property taxes on rental units of apartments and houses, as opposed to those who own the property. Property taxes for these people are paid out of their monthly rental fees (at the end of the year) paid to landlords or a mortgage holder. No exceptions, except for church parsonages.

Property taxes pay for local schools, hospitals and local government funding. Every undocumented Hispanic family contributes! In addition, there are not two lines at department stores, one for legals to pay sales taxes, and one for non-legals to skip paying sales taxes. These sales taxes are paid equally by all. Many illegal workers do indeed pay state income taxes, federal taxes, Medicare and Social Security contributions…72 billion dollars last year alone. They do this using a Federal nine digit number called an ITIN. This process allows illegal America workers to pay all the same taxes as you and I pay.

They do not get back refunds or SS services, though. They pay, but don’t get the benefits. There are not 11 million illegal workers in front of your local lumber yard waiting for day labor jobs, paid with cash for their efforts. If we allow legal teenagers to mow lawns, babysit, clean a house, paint a house, collect rubbish…all for cash, without paying taxes, as many American teenagers do, what’s the difference? Isn’t that illegal, too?

In my state of Georgia, the legislature just passed a law that prohibits illegal students who are academically qualified from attending all public colleges, even when they pay triple tuition rates and their parents paid taxes, like all of us, to pay for college faculty salaries, electricity and technology on the campus. If we drive off illegal immigrants, we’d be shooting ourselves in the feet from lost taxes, and lost quality labor, like those who fill 100% of the work positions in the local chicken processing plants in my neighborhood, or picking the apples, peaches and peanuts in my state.

They are doing us a favor! Lets behave like REAL Christians, and find a way to help them be legal, rather than spewing anger toward our neighbor. What would Jesus do? My Jesus would would say SHAME on your website. Scripture backs it up, friends! Please watch my adopted (illegal) son’s story, my son who can not get legal status, who wandered here at age 9 because of Hurricane Mitch, and I think your Christian heart will agree.

Dr. Richard Stafford