Sarah Palin: âConvert Mexicans to Christianityâ
Sarah Palin claimed today that the government should force Mexican immigrants to convert to Christianity. In an interview with Fox News last night, the former Alaskan governor was asked about whether or not America should welcome the estimated 5 million illegal immigrants who will be legalized under President Obamaâs immigration plan. âAmerica should only be for people who believe in Jesus,â she responded. âWhen George Washington and Abraham Lincoln founded this country, they made Christianity our official religion and I donât see any reason to change that now. âThe Italians, Irish, and Germans came to the United States, and we converted them all. So why canât we convert the Mexicans? If Obama is gonna let these folks in, he needs to get them to stop worshipping cactuses and start following the path of Christ.â President Obama announced last month a sweeping plan to let some of the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants remain in the U.S. The largest portion of these immigrants have come from Mexico. Republicans have criticized the plan over concerns it rewards law-breaking. But there is also a deeper concern on the right about how immigration fro Latin America changes the cultural composition of this country. Yet although the United States and its southern neighbor have different languages, demographics, and cultures, they do share a common faith: Most of Mexicoâs 122 million people belong to the Roman Catholic Church, the oldest branch of Christianity. This fact was not lost upon host Sean Hannity, a staunch Catholic himself, who reminded Palin that most Mexicans share Americaâs belief in Jesus. âSean, youâre embarrassing yourself by saying that Mexicans worship Christ,â she responded. âEvery time I see a Mexican praying theyâre saying âHey Zeus!â I hate to break it to you, but Zeus is not a Christian god.â Palin served as Alaskaâs governor from 2006-2009. She was the Republican candidate for vice president in the 2008 elections.