There was a panel discussion on Immigration from a Theological Perspective at the University of Dallas last night. I applaude their efforts at being an insitution that at least tried to address this issue from a theological point of view. There were some good ideas as well as some pointed questions but overall the event went well. However, I wanted to write to some of the participants about an issue that I think should be considered when dealing with the illegal immigrant situation. Below was my email:
Folks, I first want to appreciate the effort that was done to take on this monumental and sticky topic. I know that we did not know what to expect, seeing that this issue has been a hot agenda at the local level. The event was well planned and efficiently moderated with few hiccups, if any. As a Hispanic and a beginning student at the school of ministry, I felt proud to see that the school opened up its door to deal with such topics.
I wished that I had to opportunity to share this but I wanted to be conscious of the time and make room for some of the more seasoned folks to chime in. With that said, I just wanted to mention something that was somewhat, but not explicitly, mentioned during the presentation. It is the basic but essential issue of sin. I know that this word does not amount to much in our postmodern world because we have euphemized it to death. However, a basic understanding of this word tell us a lot about who God us and who we are. Before I develop this notion a bit more and how it relates to the immigration issue, let me say that I was very pleased to hear words and phrases such as “human rights,” “the moral law,” and “made in God’s image.” Much to the emotional upset of some, this at least established a solid platform from which we could see and deal with Immigration, from a Theological Perspective.
Nevertheless, let me relate an experience I had when I first received the press release of this event and how this will tie with the above topic. I decided to circulate this to several “Christian” circles to see if anyone was interested in attending. I then received a response from one gentleman who was a Christian researcher of some kind and proceeded to tell me that “These people are just people who placate illegal immigration.” “I speak with experience.” “I do a Cable show exposing illegal immigration and have gone through it all with these people, especially the Churches.” “The "Alien Resident" argument doesn't apply here.” He then proceeded to direct me to one of his “cable shows” on the internet that “exposed illegal immigration.” The video did not mince words and at times seemed a bit vitriolic and borderline hateful. Moreover, the show aired a clip of another show where the gentleman there was going to “tell it like it is” and proceeded to call all illegal immigrants “filthy cockroaches.” To be honest, this disturbed me deeply – that those within our camp would have such a horrid description of illegal immigrants. It was futile to engage in any reasonable conversation with someone who had such a terrible social, and psychological bent of hatred and disrespect.
Back to the event - while this did not have any of the marks of the above situation, there was a question or two that sparked the above concept of sin and the human condition as it related to illegal immigration. There were some great points that were raised as well as some challenging questions. But the issue I would like for us to introspectively ask is “what is the condition of my heart in regards to these issues?” Or better yet, “what is the real motivation for my strong opinion on this matter?” I think we (myself included) need to take ourselves to task and ask these penetrating questions when dealing with any issue that has to do with humans. It gave me a chuckle to hear statements like “what part of illegal immigration do you not understand?” I think that most of us understand illegal immigration very well but we are tied to the political, socio-economical, post 9-11 everyone across our borders is a terrorist, agendas that stagnate the congressional waters of our “legal system.” Nevertheless, a more fundamental question should be “what part of illegal immigration is an actual legitimate issue and what part of it is an emotional, or even (may I say?) sinful one?
I couldn’t of agreed more with some of the solutions proposed by Owen Ross as well as some of the more stringent ones proposed by members of the audience. I will also admit that this is a serious issue and that we need to fix and implement whatever immigration laws need to be in place in order to perpetuate the survivability of our country as well as the protection of our security interest in addition to meeting the most basic human needs (legal or illegal). Nevertheless, I will challenge each one of the readers that we be a bit more honest and ask if these issues are motivated by the above principals only or if his or her judgment has been clouded because we feel as though “our space” is slowly being consumed by these “illegals,” who deplete our resources and are erasing what we know to be “the American way of living.” Why am I saying this? Do I know the intentions of the heart? That would be a resounding no! Only God knows the true intentions of the heart and the last time I checked the closest thing to a throne in my house is called a commode. Nevertheless, I can speak from experience. Even I, as a Hispanic, Latino, Mexican-American or whatever I am to be called, have had these feelings with my own kind! I will admit my sin and territorial arrogance when I say that sometimes, just sometimes, I am not too happy with everything that comes across the border. But once I realized that, I asked myself, “is it really about a border per say?” I think that a more fundamental issue is at stake and you could call it by its subcategories such as arrogance, sectarianism, pride, or even racism. However, sin is at the root of all of it.
In some cases I would venture to say that if it were really about laws (a very much discussed thread at tonight’s panel discussion), then why don’t we see people protesting about tougher laws against speeding. You don’t see the multitudes going to congress by the droves declaring that it is so unfair that there are so many people breaking the speeding laws that we just need to impose tougher restrictions, heavier fines, sophisticated equipment, etc. If you think about it, speeding has also caused a lot of damage such as fatal accidents, children’s safety compromised, higher insurance premiums and so on. Nevertheless, since it doesn’t carry much of the emotional baggage that immigration does, we just don’t see it as an issue we care to talk about….unless, we get a ticket for speeding. I think that what I’m suggesting is (I’m still working this out) that lets be careful of not letting our prejudices and violated comfort zones cloud our judgment when it comes to immigration policies. As was mentioned last night, there were many laws that were in place such as slavery and women’s status in society that just because they were laws didn’t mean that they were right. In fact, the bible tell us of a rich young ruler who kept all of the laws since he was a boy (Mark 10:18-21). However, Jesus knew his heart and since his vertical relationship was not in line, Jesus proceeded to expose him horizontally and see if he could at least give everything he had. The Bible says that he “went away sad because he had great wealth.” Let me steal this analogy and say that we might come up with a great and reformed immigration policy that will accomplish what is needed to fix this situation, but what after that? If the vertical is not in line with God, it doesn’t matter if we are successful. We have already failed on the inside.
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