Thoughts On Immigration

One of my favorite places to vacation in the U.S. is Arizona, particularly at Spring Break. The boys and I can escape the cold March weather, and head out to sunny Phoenix (or Scottsdale!), and expect a week of 75 degree temps, no humidity, sunshine everyday, spring training baseball, and a heated pool at the resort. Plus lots of March Madness to fill the dead space. There are other attractions, namely the Grand Canyon, about 4 1/2 hours north, which is simply the most amazing thing I have ever seen. I do want to stop in Sedona sometime, as I have heard so many good things about it, as well as see the desert and perhaps some sidewinder rattlesnakes (from a safe distance!).

So it is with a degree of sadness that I see Arizona embroiled in controversy over the recently passed immigration bill. While I am not convinced that the law is the right answer, I am so disappointed by the reaction to this bill, both by those for the bill and those against it. The fact is that the state has seen a dramatic rise in violent crime being perpetrated by those who are in the country illegally. The vast majority of the crime is done by those associated with drug cartels who find Arizona's porous border an easy entry into the U.S. In passing the law, what Arizona hoped to accomplish was to reduce and cut out this violent crime. While I do not think this bill does the trick, what I also strongly believe is that Arizona sent out a cry for help.

Clearly, Arizona feels overwhelmed by the illegal immigration going on within the state. Yet the people within the state also clearly believe that the federal government in Washington did not care to help. So the Arizona legislature took matters into its own hands, basically copied the federal immigration law and signed it into state law as well. This is an issue which both Republicans and Democrats in Washington let down the state of Arizona.

The reaction to this bill on all fronts is hugely disappointing. The Obama Administration basically bitch-slapped the people of Arizona. Arizona is asking for help and the federal government is suing the state. The Republican response is equally puzzling, painting all illegal immigrants as sub-human, and boy America is no place for immigrants! Of course, since Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the U.S. it is puzzling why the Republicans are doing all they can to ensure that none of them ever votes their way.

There has to be a different path. First, I tend to divide immigrants into two different classes. First, you have the migrants. These are the people who come to this country to escape the oppression in their own country (primarily Mexico). They come to this country seeking a better life, seeking opportunity. These people are hard working, generally they are socially conservative, they do not come looking for government handouts, and they are not generally criminals. They have nothing in Mexico, so they have nothing to lose by coming to this country. They are also dirty, they are uneducated, they generally have a darker skin complexion and they do not speak English, so we look down on them. The second class of illegal immigrant is the drug cartel associate. They do the bidding of the drug lords in Mexico. They are violent, they are ruthless and they are criminals. While their crime is generally against other Hispanics in Arizona, their actions have scared the entire state population.

I keep looking to the first group, the migrants. These are the very people that the American dream is all about. They come seeking opportunity and seeking work. They are seeking a better life for themselves and their families. They generally work jobs that most Americans would not touch. Quite frankly, the economy needs them. Yet, all forms of legal immigration are closed off to these people. Should we allow their children in our schools? I would want their children to learn about this nation, its history, its boundless love of freedom. I would also want these children to learn to speak English. This will be important for them as they grow older. I would love to see these children grow to be productive American citizens. As for the drug cartel associates, I have no sympathy for them. Give them the harsh, swift hand of justice. But how do you separate the two?

Should we allow these people in? I look at it from a secular perspective and a spiritual perspective. The secular perspective I mentioned in the previous paragraph. Looking at this spiritually, I take my cue from Jesus Christ in the New Testament. The Jesus of the New Testament spoke often of the need to minister to the poor, to feed the hungry, and most of all, to give hope to the downtrodden. He took compassion on those that society forgot, or those that society wished to cast away. He welcomed those who came to him. Jesus never once spoke of the need to secure borders.

This issue is far more complex than today's leaders make this out to be. A presidential administration has turned its back on its own citizens. Yet the opposition's action remind me of the Pharisees in Jesus's day. In the end, I have no answers. Just the rambling musings of someone looking for answers and not finding them. This issue is far more complex than I have even presented here. Answers are not easy to come by.