S.C. Senate Bill Holds Churches Liable for Helping Refugees

The South Carolina Senate on Thursday passed a controversial bill targeting refugees in the state, prompting concern that it may portend a wave of anti-refugee legislation around the country, particularly in the tense climate following the terrorist attacks in Brussels.

The bill, if passed by the South Carolina House and signed into law by Gov. Nikki Haley, would require refugees’ sponsors to register them in a database maintained by the state’s Department of Social Services. It would also impose strict liability on a refugee’s sponsor if the refugee, at some point in the future, commits a terrorist or criminal act.

“I fear this may be the start of similar nationwide legislation,” said Jenny Yang, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief, an evangelical humanitarian nonprofit group that helps resettle refugees who have been vetted and approved under a federal program run by the State Department.

Although World Relief and many evangelicals in the state have opposed the legislation, many of its Senate supporters belong to evangelical churches, highlighting a growing split within evangelicalism over immigration and refugee issues.

Alan Cross, a Southern Baptist minister opposed to the bill, noted that six of the bill’s eight co-sponsors are Southern Baptists. The bill’s evangelical opponents have charged it violates their religious freedom.

Yang called the bill “wrongheaded,” “grotesque” and “anti-faith” and said World Relief worries that if passed, the bill would “infringe on our ability to carry out our mission, which is a matter of carrying out our faith and practicing our religion, to help people who are vulnerable.”

William Dieckmann, director of missions for the Columbia Metro Baptist Association, which represents about 100 Southern Baptist churches, said his group had expressed concerns about the bill to its Senate sponsors. He said he hoped that the bill would undergo further changes in the House and that it could ultimately strike a balance between safety and the ability of religious groups to carry out their mandate.

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