A quote to start the conversation:
Theodore Roosevelt's ideas on Immigrants and being an AMERICAN in 1907.
"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."
Theodore Roosevelt 1907
The Katrina construction projects are being called the "gold rush" for immigrants
Hispanic workers have gutted, roofed and painted houses, and hauled away garbage, debris and downed trees. Illegal immigrants have installed trailers to house returning evacuees at New Orleans City Park, their pay coming from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) subcontractors.
"It's all illegals doing this work," said Rey Mendez, a FEMA trailer subcontractor from Honduras. Read Article in Seattle Times
So, before I go on with my thoughts, let's hear some first. Who's willing to venture a comment?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
The factor he does not address is TIME. How many generations, how many years, how much time must elapse before a "family" who moves here is expected to assimilate in every way. Some would argue that some 150 years has lapsed and some members of the African-American community have yet to truly meld and assimilate into American society.
If you were born in Mexico, would you move your family to the US? Would you care about the "law" of immigration or would you just move because it's the best thing for your family.
I agree with Teddy. If anyone wants to be an American, I'm glad he/she has the right to try. And if he/she makes it, I have a responsibility to honor that person and treat that person as an equal. But...a person who enters the country illegally and then demands the right to stay...is that giving evidence of respect for America and honoring the privilege of becoming an American? Double talk.
And if an illegal immigrant works hard in America, I hope he is getting paid. But does that buy that illegal immigrant a right to have his illegal status changed?
Why would it?
The chance to become an American citizen is an extraordinary thing...at least it has been up until now. Are we really willing to make it common, ordinary, and something available because we fear a backlash if we don't?
Steve - I did a few minutes of research this afternoon, and came up with a good variety of quotes from media and blogs about the illegal immigration issue - all of them addressing the Christian edge to the debate. I'm passing them on to you - the one I like the most is the last one, from CamassiaBlog. I had all of these hyperlinked - not sure if that carried across into your blog. If not, I'm going to blog it myself - you can grab the hyperlinks there.
“Government is supposed to punish lawbreakers, and Christian criminals are not excepted. God appointed men to authority and laid down the function and role of government.” - from: Illegal Immigration From A Biblical Point of View, La Shawn Barber
“For immigrants who are starving, for example, and who are also brothers and sisters in Christ looking for work, my heart goes out to them. If I’m so moved, I can help them through the immigration process, intercede at deportation hearings on their behalf — whatever I need to do.” from: Illegal Immigration From A Biblical Point of View, La Shawn Barber
“How in the world (or in the Bible) does our “love of God for these people” mean that Christians should ignore crime? God is the ultimate judge, and he will punish lawbreakers. Yes, he is compassionate and merciful, but where in Scripture are Christians required to ask government not to punish criminals?
To require my government to ignore crime, ask others to do the same and pay to support criminals is unbiblical. Evading personal responsibility is unbiblical. Forcing others to pay for our good intentions is unbiblical. Supporting illegal immigration is unbiblical.” from: Illegal Immigration From A Biblical Point of View, La Shawn Barber
“The vast majority of illegal immigrants in the United States have immigrated for the purpose of having a better life, providing for their families, and escaping from poverty. These are good goals and motivations. However, these reasons do not give a person the right to break a law. Those seeking to immigrate to the United States (or any other country), should obey the immigration laws of that country. While this will cause delays and frustrations, again, these reasons do not give a person the right to break a law.” From: How does God view illegal immigration? at GotQuestions.org.
For some strange reason Pastor Robin Hoover of Tucson, Ariz., and the founder of Humane Borders has decided to print maps for distribution in Mexico. These maps show routes that illegal immigrants can use to cross the desert into Arizona. Additionally, the map indicates water locations, rescue beacons and future plans call for maps to indicate locations where cellular phone service is optimal.
I have heard the argument that this organization has an agenda of compassion and only wishes to save lives. From: Common Sense Says Maps Are not the Answer at http://www.bible.com/community/news_record.php
I have mixed feelings on the illegal immigrants issue, which is actually several issues. First, I want our border secured. Build a double fence from San Diego to the mouth of the Rio Grande and patrol it night and day with armed soldiers, vehicles, helicopters, and unmanned spy planes. No compromises on that issue.
Second, I have a lot of sympathy for so many of the illegal immigrants. I worked with a church ESL program for quite a while and most of the people that I dealt with were illegal immigrants. I became good friends with some of them. They fled a corrupt country, Mexico, where no matter how hard they worked, they could never get ahead.
They lived in grinding poverty — I’ve seen the poverty in Juarez and have smelled the smoke of people burning tires to keep warm wafting across the border to El Paso. Click on the picture to see an enlarged view. My wife spent a week at an orphanage for handicapped children in Oaxaca several years ago and it broke her heart to see them playing in sewage ditches and not having adequate medical care. A church here in Dallas is still helping the orphanage but there are only so many churches and there is much poverty in Mexico.
If you lived in shacks like the ones shown in the picture from Juarez and you had a country just a few miles away from you as rich as the United States, wouldn’t you try to escape, too? It’s easy to be a tough conservative and say “send them all back” but one’s heart changes when seeing how bad Mexico really is. It’s almost like Jews trying to flee Germany in the 1930s. The Jews weren’t being killed yet, but the German system held them in poverty. I have a brother-in-law who grew up in Ciudad Juarez and was supporting his mother and brothers and sisters by age 10 (he’s a master woodcarver inspired by God). He taught himself English within 3 months and within a few years became an American citizen. I’m very proud of what he’s done and of being his brother-in-law.
Most illegals work hard and most stay out of trouble. I do have a problem however with the Hispanic culture because it does not try to blend into the “melting pot” of the United States and because it doesn’t value education, especially education for women. There are third-generation descendants of Mexican immigrants who are still not fluent in English — or don’t know English at all — because their families never made it a priority. They’ve brought the bondage of Mexico with them and kept it here.
I’m against blanket amnesty. Once our borders are sealed, we can begin to deal with the problem of illegal immigrants. Those with criminal records (serious offenses, not just a speeding ticket) should be sent back to Mexico. Others can go through guest worker programs that will make sure that they learn English as an incentive to becoming a US citizen.
This is a tough subject. People of good will can disagree with one another on what to do with illegal immigrants. But focusing on illegal aliens takes our focus off the main priority of securing our border with Mexico so that no one can cross.” From: A different take on the Dallas illegal immigrant protest at Stingray: A Blog For Salty Christians
There’s been a lot of discussion in the Christian blogosphere about it lately, most of it pitting the biblical commandments about loving one’s neighbor and welcoming the stranger against the Romans 13 commandment to obey the laws.
One other biblical analogy occurred to me, though, which I haven’t seen anyone else bring up: Paul’s letter to Philemon. The note is accompanying a slave, Onesimus, whom Paul is sending back to his master, Philemon. Exactly why Onesimus has been staying with Paul isn’t clear; he might have run away from Philemon, or Philemon might have sent him to Paul to serve Paul in his place (Paul says something to this effect).
What’s striking about this is how Paul obeys the letter of the law, but subverts the spirit of the law. Onesimus is Philemon’s property, so Paul sends him back to his owner. But the letter makes it clear that Onesimus is anything but property — Paul calls him “my child” and “my heart” and urges Philemon to accept him “no longer as a slave but more than a slave, a beloved brother.” Paul says that he could order Philemon to do the right thing, but he would rather “appeal to you on the basis of love” and let Philemon choose to do the right thing. He adds that “If he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account.”… “Paul, I think, recognizes that Philemon’s house is Onesimus’ home, and that things are not really going to be set right until the two of them are reconciled” From: The Bible and immigration at CamassiaBlog.
Post a Comment