Chamber of Commerce Denies Funding Evangelical Immigration Table

By Mark Tooley @markdtooley

The Chamber of Commerce has denied that it has funded the Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT) or its ad campaign for legislation legalizing illegal immigrants.

Reacting to reports that leftist George Soros funds the National Immigration Forum, (NIF), the EIT’s parent group, Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, an EIT member, denied Soros help for EIT and told The Christian Post, in the reporter’s words: “The money for the ads came from Paul Singer, a Republican hedge fund billionaire, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Walmart, and other leading Christian business owners.”

National Association of Evangelicals President Leith Anderson, who’s also active in EIT, also told his board that reports of Soros funding were false. He said EIT was funded by Chamber of Commerce, Walmart, a “Christian family foundation” and others.

But the Chamber of Commerce told Breitbart News:

The Chamber has contributed to the National Immigration Forum generally, and has done so for years. But we have never given to the National Immigration Forum for ads or given any money to the Evangelical Immigration Table. Whether or not the National Immigration Forum contributed to this ad, I don’t know – you will have to check with them.

EIT is not a legal entity and seems to function as part of the Soros funded NIF, whose own statement this week confirmed that ten percent of its income this year comes from Soros. NIF said none of its Soros funding goes to EIT and expressed appreciation for “partnership” with EIT. NIF, which paid for EIT’s ads, did not explain how it segregates funds for EIT versus other projects.

Some very good and distinguished evangelical leaders are part of EIT. But they seem not to know the details of EIT’s being part of the Soros funded NIF and are perhaps relying on NIF for incomplete information. Hopefully these leaders will press for more complete information and perhaps reconsider their involvement, like Eric Metaxas, who quit EIT earlier this week.