How should religious leaders and people of faith respond to people (especially the poor) who come to America either legally or illegally?
I confess that my position on illegal immigration is neither coherent or settled.
One one hand, the Bible and the Church teach that the laws of sovereign nations should be obeyed?assuming those laws are just. The United States has an established system for legal immigration. When immigrants ignore that system and enter our country illegally, they are flouting our laws, and perhaps the law of God, as well. Illegal immigrants tax the capacity of local governments to provide services to their communities. It?s costly to provide education, health care, and other services to individuals who haven?t registered themselves or contributed tax revenues.
On the other hand, many illegal immigrants come to America because their own economic and social conditions are dire. When they arrive, they find amble opportunities to earn money, much of which they send home to their struggling families. There are American industries that depend on illegal immigrant labor. Many of these jobs are at the lowest rung?jobs many Americans would not perform. From a religious point of view, most Central American immigrants are fellow-Christians. In my experience, most are hard working and committed to their families. When I think of them as an abstraction, they?re a social problem. When I meet them personally in our health centers, they?re flesh and blood neighbors who deserve my respect and care. The innumerable biblical injunctions to care for the alien and stranger seem to speak louder than the admonitions to obey governing authorities.
My view of legal and illegal immigration is further informed by my family?s story. Our great grandparents on both sides were Irish immigrants who left poverty in hopes of beginning new, more prosperous lives in America. Three generations later, their descendents have college educations and white collar jobs. If we?ve taken advantage of America?s freedoms and opportunities, how can we justify denying others the same chance?
Tougher laws aimed at illegal immigrants and those who employ or serve them will fail. As long as stark economic disparity exists between the US and our southern neighbors, men and women will find ways to enter our country. They?ll be hired by Americans to do work we?re not willing to do at wages we?re not willing to accept. In doing so, they?ll better themselves and their families. When they need the assistance of schools, hospitals, and churches, they?ll continue to receive it.
Source: http://faithinmemphis.com/2011/08/20/tougher-immigration-laws-will-fail/
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