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For top-tier NHCLC pastors, this remains the case. Rodriguez says many Hispanic pastors have determined that there is no legal precedent or obligation for the clergy to report the undocumented within their churches, and they base their conclusion, in part, on the traditional right of "clergy privilege."

Joe Trull, editor of www.ChristianEthicsToday.com, pastored for 20 years in the border town of El Paso, Texas. He sees clergy privilege regarding unauthorized migrants as "somewhat analogous" to what Corrie ten Boom did by hiding Jews during World War II in defiance of Dutch law. Pastors must decide between the lesser of two evils, he says. They should acknowledge the evil in harboring unauthorized immigrants and disobeying the law, but also weigh it against the greater evil of preventing people from feeding their families and sending them back to potentially dangerous situations. He adds that Christians must work to pass better laws in order to eliminate the moral dilemma.

Hospitality to the undocumented also means taking a compassionate approach, as does Templo Calvario in Santa Ana—one of the largest Hispanic churches in the country. The church has a history of immigration ministry. During the 1980s immigration amnesty signed into law by Ronald Reagan, Templo Calvario partnered with World Relief to help congregants with their immigration cases. Santa Ana is home to one of the largest Vietnamese communities in the country. For years, World Relief and many other Christian groups have helped resettle Asian and European refugees who were fleeing communism. For some Christian groups, refugee issues evolved into immigration issues. World Relief still helps those who are eligible to legalize through marriage, family ties, or employment—including a few who enter the country with the intent to overstay their visas.

Like most people interviewed for this article, Templo Calvario's senior pastor, Daniel DeLeon, was hesitant to speak on the record—until Rodriguez intervened. DeLeon has pastored the church for 29 years and says that when he began, the congregation was composed of 99 percent English-speaking, second- and third-generation Mexican Americans. Demographic changes in Santa Ana have transformed the church.

On the Sunday I visited, the sanctuary was overflowing for the early morning Spanish-language service, but it was only about two-thirds full during the 10 a.m. English-language service.

DeLeon says that as a church, Templo Calvario doesn't have people standing at the door asking for green cards (permanent residency documents). "God has given us a mandate to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. This witness shall be preached to all the nations. … The word [nation] in the Greek means all ethnic groups. So whether they're here or there, across our borders or across the ocean, we have a responsibility to preach the gospel to them."

He doesn't kick out unauthorized workers from his church. "I'm not a legal entity for the government. I tell people from the pulpit, 'Get your papers in order,' and encourage them to abide by the laws of the land." But he reserves judgment for the "real illegals"—those who knowingly employ the undocumented.

DeLeon says Christians have a second responsibility. "Many of the laws through the years have come about through the influence of the church, not only in America, but in the world. So we have a responsibility and a right to speak about issues that are touching the life of our congregation and the people that we serve."

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March 2006, Vol. 50, No. 3