When did we see you a stranger and welcome you? … Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me. — Matthew 25:38,45
This past December, to our great dismay, the U.S. House of Representatives passed House Resolution (HR) 4437, which in the view of many people of faith, is a direct assault on our immigrant communities of Texas and of the nation. It is an assault on people who search for a decent living for their families. Now is the time when we need to ask ourselves if we are building walls of division or bridges of reconciliation.
HR 4437, known as the “Border Protection, Antiterrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005,” is punitive in nature and does not address the reality of immigration in our country, while threatening to drive a wedge between nations and to further divide families.
It is evident that the arrival of Hispanic immigrants poses a challenge for the United States. The immigration trend in North America has definitely marked the identity of the United States, but traditionally it has also faced the resistance of those who already live in the country.
Historically, we have seen that the idea of Nativism — “Americans for Americans” — has never worked. Nativism assumes that the economic pie of America is small and that its culture is set in stone. But our history shows exactly the opposite. Immigrants make the pie bigger. They create wealth, bring new energy and ideas, and maintain our country’s competitive status. The more successful America is, the more people from foreign lands will be encouraged to come here, seeking to build a life among us. That is logic. And it is something good too. We must not be afraid of it.
In addition, in the United States our economy depends on the work of millions of undocumented immigrants, many of them from Latin America. In many places, agriculture would not survive without the work of their hands. The great majority does not represent any threat whatsoever for national security.
For most of the “illegal” Mexicans, the issue is very simple: America needs workers, and they want to work. Why is it so unreasonable to extend some kind of reasonable protection under the law to these workers?
Our immigration system is broken. We encourage a comprehensive response. We support a strategy that will reduce the deaths of migrants who must risk their lives. We must provide the immigrant with a means to a legal status. In a country that yearns for family values, we must implement immigration reform that shortens the time families must be apart.
In short, as a nation, we must adopt and endorse immigration laws that can be enforced while retaining human dignity.
Pope John Paul II, when he talked about immigration, undoubtedly recognized the right of each country to regulate the flow of immigrants according to the needs of the common good. That’s an undeniable right. However, he pointed out that this right could not ignore a fundamental human right: the freedom of men and women to move about, looking for a better future for themselves and their families.
But for us Catholics, the challenge is, one more time, very clear: we either are willing to live the Gospel and in a reasonable manner to live like brothers and sisters, or we prefer selfishness that comes from isolation, and with it, the rejection of the new commandment of loving each other.
Let’s never forget that a nation that aspires to be a beacon of democracy, justice and solidarity for the world, must share its blessings with others. In the words of Pope John Paul II, “In the church no one is a stranger, and the church is not foreign to anyone, anywhere.”