After protesters shouting \u201cGo home\u201d\u009d turned back busloads of immigrant mothers and children in Murrieta, Calif., a furious Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the Roman Catholic archbishop of New York, sat down at his notepad and drafted a blog post detailing his shame at the episode, writing, \u201cIt was un-American; it was unbiblical; it was inhumane.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
When the governor of Iowa, Terry E. Branstad, said he did not want the migrants in his state, declaring, \u201cWe can\u2019t accept every child in the world who has problems,\u201d\u009d clergy members in Des Moines held a prayer vigil at a United Methodist Church to demonstrate their desire to make room for the refugees.<\/p>\n
The United States\u2019 response to the arrival of tens of thousands of migrant children, many of them fleeing violence and exploitation in Central America, has been symbolized by an angry pushback from citizens and local officials who have channeled their outrage over illegal immigration into opposition to proposed shelter sites. But around the nation, an array of religious leaders are trying to mobilize support for the children, saying the nation can and should welcome them.<\/p>\n