Perhaps following Jesus...Rights, part 5

The premise of this blog entry series is as follows:  Perhaps following Jesus is just as likely to lead us to lay down our rights as it is to lead us to fight for them. 

 

Another way we can lay down our rights and be more concerned about the rights of others is in relation to the alien, or the illegal immigrant as they are so often lovingly referred to in today’s vernacular.  Let’s take this from a strictly economic standpoint to start out with before I even address the Scriptural side of the need to provide for the alien living among us.  I’ve read that as much as 40% of farm workers are illegal immigrants. 

Now, were we to deport them all as is the argument of several people including several Christians I might add which has always baffled me by the way, our entire farming system would collapse over night.  In addition, the hospitality industry and what’s left of our textiles industry rely heavily on undocumented workers to accomplish their tasks that help provide for the rest of our societies’ needs.  So, you’ve already collapsed the farming industry, add to that the hospitality industry and our textile and clothing industry and it’s not really looking all that appealing anymore, is it? 

Surely we can’t just provide amnesty for 11 or 12 million illegal immigrants, can we?  I mean, they broke the law after all, didn’t they?  The current law that the Senate passed allows undocumented workers to obtain citizenship, but it will take no less than 13 years.  Not exactly the fast track to citizenship that politicians assure us will be the result of passing immigration reform bill.  In addition, once they are citizens, we can finally tax them.  Why do we want to keep them as illegal immigrants when they necessarily have to be paid under the table?  Is there a reason we don’t want to ‘broaden the tax base’ as I mentioned before?

If you didn’t pick up on it already, I am a strong advocate and believer in immigration reform.  A friend on the trip to Haiti I went on earlier this summer said we should just deport them all, to which I replied that would be insanely expensive.  He quickly replied that it’s going to be really expensive either way.  We need to take a longer term view of this though, and maybe even a shorter term view as well.  If we were to deport all 11 or 12 million of them, several of our systems would simply collapse.  This would not exactly be a great idea for the economy.  In addition, we lose potential tax payers and not only that but also potential future entrepreneurs who can start businesses were they given legal status and provide jobs for other American citizens.  As Americans on their way to obtaining citizenship, they could hopefully pay for healthcare insurance.  We are morally obligated to meet the medical needs of everyone in our borders whether we like that fact or not.  Why not have them pay for part of it alongside the rest of us?

Alright, now that I’ve laid out the economic argument for passing immigration reform and defending the rights of the alien, let’s look at it from a Biblical perspective and historical perspective.  The Bible is pretty clear about providing for the widow, orphan and alien living among you and your people.  Plus, couldn’t it be argued that Jesus’ own family was somewhat illegal immigrants themselves at one point?  Obviously I don’t know what the law was back then, but they definitely went to a foreign land, right, to avoid persecution and the killing of boys two years of age or younger.  They were escaping very harsh conditions and an overall environment that wasn’t exactly inviting to them.  Can’t the same be said of Mexicans and Cubans who leave their home countries due to corrupt government and a lack of opportunity?

In addition is the fact and ideal I’d refer to it as that America is a nation of immigrants.  My best friend and pastor has told me how he loves watching the US team in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics because it really is a microcosm of just how diverse we are as a nation.  What’s the reason for all that diversity?  It’s because we’re a nation of immigrants!  Granted, that was during a different time and from a different continent altogether, but the fact remains that we are a nation of immigrants.  Immigrants helped build this country and similarly they will help rebuild it if we allow them to.

I know, I know, I’m definitely a heretic at this point, right?  I mean, who would sanely lay down their own resolution to keep their own rights at all cost in exchange for advocating on behalf of the downtrodden and aliens among us?  No one in their right mind surely!  That is sincerely what I believe God is calling us to though, and it would be hard to convince me otherwise to be frank. 

May we all learn to put others’ needs and rights ahead of our own.  May we advocate on behalf of the least of these in our society.  May we speak up just as loud if not louder on behalf of our needy neighbor’s behalf.