Many local churches, states offices and denominational offices (of all kinds) have a hidden liability in some of the immigrant ministers they have sponsored. Some have signed a government document that says the immigrant should receive legal status on the basis the church will pay them a certain amount per year, that they will only engage in religious work and they will not engage in work outside the church. If I remember right, it has a clause that the quantification of the minister were established before they immigrated and took the position. The problem is that many of these documents have been signed with a wink and a nod because the immigrant will not receive the full amount from the church, but works under the table at a secular job to earn a living.If I remember right, the documents I dealt with (and refused to sign because there was no funding through the church) stated the church would pay $24 K per year (this may have been the minimum some years ago, so the program and amounts may have changed). If this is still in place, what happens when ICE comes calling? If the church or denomination office is not paying the salary and they pick-up the sponsored minister illegally working (employers should be heavy fined for not using E-verify) there could be the issue of either paying up past salaries and/or fines, or even loss of legal status for the church. Even at $24 K per person per year, just 20 such sponsored immigrant ministers across the country could cost a denomination $480 K, as an example. I think all of us praise the Lord for the growth of the Ethnic works here in the USA. It is adding life to our denominations, but are we compromising the message of the Gospel for expedience sake? Perhaps I'm out of touch with the issue and the current laws, but I would be concerned with my leadership signing a sham document. I know it is tempting to sign and have instance growth, but what of the hidden cost, both monetarily and spiritually? I have been called racist for refusing to sign (in some cases) and those over me have gladly signed for the sake of a new church, but is that the kind of price we are willing to pay for growth?