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Being cut from the census and thus excluded from benefits based on census figures allocations can only lead to a narrowing of options for immigrants and increase dependence on private religious patronage for food, jobs and medical help - as well as imposing loyalties such inducements can inspire or entail.

Reading this article gave me a sense of foreboding because, unfortunately, the author is right in shining a light on a religious/political strategy that wreaks havoc on the democratic process. Having religious figures act as channels for wielding political influence on behalf of various groups is an historical tactic which has served to consolidate power in the hands of religious activists and leave the communities under their sponsorship vulnerable to intimidation and influence. Cutting off groups from direct political access with the result of allowing others to act or speak in their behalf has the political potential of serving interests that may not benefit the groups in the long run.

We’ve seen many instances of this in the past, and presently. For example, when the crimes against children by priests came to public light, immigrant communities were even more intimidated by religious authorities from reporting these crimes than were families who were native-born. In some cases, the wives and mothers of generations of once immigrant families have been kept isolated in the home, despite being born in the U.S., without having the opportunity to learn English and thus kept dependent on the dictates of religious “authorities.” In the instance of battered women this can sometimes be fatal, especially when wives are pressured to keep the families together at all costs.

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