Most people do not uproot themselves from their homeland without being forced to do so. Usually it is because of war, famine, financial hardship, natural disaster or some other catastrophe that people make the difficult choice to leave their homes, families, property and livelihoods in search of a safe place to rebuild their lives. This has been the history of immigration in our country. From the first pilgrims fleeing England in search of religious liberty to the droves of immigrants from Italy, Germany, Ireland, Poland and other parts of Europe searching for a stable place to start over, our nation has been a refuge for the “tired, poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
Over the years, waves of people from various places have come to this country in the hope of establishing themselves here. From those immigrants – our own family members a few generations ago – we have become part of the fabric of the cultural diversity that is the United States. Now, in our own time, people from all over the world are experiencing the difficult decision to uproot from what has always been home for them, to find a better life somewhere else. And most of them are doing so because of what threatens them at home. The risk of immigrating somewhere else is less than the danger of remaining at home.
It seems to be the case that the world lives in hope that life in the United States would be their best option. Some of them have relatives and friends who are here and testify to the chance to start over and rebuild their lives. Fifty years ago, with the fall of Saigon, tens of thousands of Vietnamese risked their lives to drift in boats in the South China Sea with the hope of being rescued and freed from the tyranny of life in Vietnam. Many came to this country, settled here, worked hard and rebuilt their lives, contributing much to us all over the course of the past 50 years. Since then, this country has welcomed waves of refugees from civil wars in Ethiopia and Sudan, and conflicts in other areas as well.
The United States has been so generous in welcoming the victims of war and famine, tyranny and violence throughout the world. But we cannot have open boarders without the careful scrutiny of those who are trying to come here. It is no surprise that having open borders in recent years has led to an influx of criminals and an increase of violence throughout this country. Yet, many good people who are seeking to come here are doing so for the same reasons that our ancestors came – in desperation, seeking freedom and safety, in the hopes of stability, starting over by contributing to the rich fabric of life here in America. Certainly, the government must have reasonable quotas in place to manage the great numbers who wish to come here. However, in recent months, those quotas have been drastically cut.
At the same time, for those who try to come here legally, (not just from Mexico but from around the world) the process takes 15, 20 or 25+ years to navigate. This is in itself unjust! Getting here the right way, the legal way is broken! For years, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has been calling for immigration reform to help people, not punish them. Yet it seems no politician on either side of the aisle wants to tackle the real problem of immigration reform.
The truth is, we need immigrants. We need scores of workers in every field to help maintain our productivity and support the businesses that serve our needs. With decades of a declining birthrate and 50+ years of abortion in this country, we do not have an adequate workforce. Right here in Nebraska, businesses are recruiting foreign workers from South Africa and other places to maintain their productivity. There are also many undocumented workers who are willing to work in jobs that those born here will not take.
If people who have come here illegally are now contributing to the common good of our society, should there not be a process to normalize their legal status and help them become citizens? It is disingenuous to put into one category hardworking undocumented workers, some of whom have been here for decades and are contributing to the good of their communities, along with violent criminals. Doing so is humiliating and lacks the Christian charity upon which this great nation was founded. Fundamentally, this is about human dignity. We cannot justify the inhuman treatment of others simply because of their legal status.
The world is a mess and as in every age, when peoples’ lives are threatened, they will search for a better life somewhere else. Yes, we need to have secure borders. But we also need to have reasonable quotas to welcome refugees to this country to secure their lives and find a way to start over, with liberty and justice for all. We cannot simply round up good people and toss them back home or into other countries that are unfamiliar to them. We need to stop vilifying those who are not villains and work instead to reform the broken legal process that has left so many with the difficult choice to come here by some other means.
I’m truly grateful that the farm where I grew up is still in our family. We didn’t have to start over somewhere else. But even if we had to do so, it would not have required us to move to another country. In the polarized debate over immigration, it would be helpful for each of us to imagine the true plight of most of those who are seeking to start over in America. Most of them are not criminals but like so many in the history of our country, they are people who are desperate and have much to offer us all. If we would but fix the legal immigration process, it would be a win for immigrants and for us all! Until then, everyone suffers in some way. This should not be the legacy of this great nation!
