Indeed, evangelical elites have a rosier view of immigrants than do the Republican rank and file. According to a recent Pew Research Center study, 55 percent of Republicans view immigrants as a \u201cburden because they take jobs, housing, and health care.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
\u201cLeaders are usually ahead of the laity \u201d\u201d that\u2019s called leadership,\u201d\u009d Richard Land said. \u201cBut the gap is closing.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
This debate is not just about immigration policy. For Latino evangelicals, making life better for immigrants requires investment in education and the social safety net as well as legal reform. If demographers are right, and America\u2019s political future lies in the hands of Latinos and other minorities, conservative evangelicals cannot resurrect the Republican Party without following their political campaign to its theological conclusion.<\/p>\n