A months-long battle pitting immigration advocates against each other over whether illegal immigrants should participate in the Census has taken a seasonal turn -- and sparked a debate about the separation of church and state.
In an apparent effort to counter a call for illegal immigrants to boycott the Census by Hispanic Evangelical clergy members, a Hispanic advocacy group is distributing a poster invoking the biblical Christmas story of Joseph and Mary urging people to participate.
Distributed by the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, the poster says "This is how Jesus was Born: Joseph and Mary Participated in the Census." The illustration shows the silhouette of the holy family walking down a hill toward the star of Bethlehem. The poster adds: "Don't be Afraid."
The poster is referring to how, according to the Bible's book of Luke, the holy family traveled to Jesus' birthplace of Bethlehem so they could be taxed by Roman emperor Caesar Augustus.
But the Rev. Miguel Rivera, chairman of the National Coalition of Latino Clergy and Christian Leaders -- which is spearheading the boycott -- says the poster is "blasphemous," according to USA Today.
The poster, he said, "violates the concept of separation of church and state. ... It is definitely an assault against our Christian faith."
The poster's designer, Jose Cruz -- senior director of civic engagement at NALEO -- said the wary population needs to know that participating in the Census is beneficial to them, as the Census is used to apportion representation in Congress and allocate $400 billion a year in federal spending.
"Our challenge is a full Latino count," he said. "There is no more trusted voice in our community than faith-based leaders."
