Spirituality Ponderings
Tough Topic: Immigration Reform
 
“Migrants trust that they will encounter acceptance, solidarity, and help, that they will meet people who will sympathize with the distress and tragedy experienced by others, recognize the values and resources the latter have to offer, and are open to sharing humanly and materially with the needy and disadvantaged.” Pope Francis
 
I would like to share with each of you some thoughts and reflections on one of the hot button topics in our country if not the world today.  I know that there will be some who will disagree with me and what I have to say, but I feel compelled to say them out of love and with the hope that somehow I may contribute even in the smallest way to the building up of God’s kingdom. 
 
A few years ago, I decided to tackle the topic of illegal immigration in one of my Sunday homilies.  My homily was mostly a word for word restatement of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishop’s suggested plan for comprehensive immigration reform.  Immediately after Mass, a man ran up to me and started yelling at me and telling me that I had no right to preach about the issue of immigration because I was basically encouraging people to break the law.  I resisted my first instincts to tell the man that I was ordained by the Church and I could preach whatever the hell I wanted to and instead I let the man rant and rave for about ten minutes.  Finally towards the end of his angry monologue he told me that his brother had been involved in and accident and had been seriously injured and the driver of the other car had been an illegal immigrant.  As the man told me about his brother, I could not help but feel that if I was in his shoes I would probably feel the same way.  The anger that he had directed at me (and the issue of illegal immigration) was a misdirected anger.  He was angry at the driver who just happened to be an illegal immigrant but since he could not express his anger or reconcile with that individual he consciously or subconsciously decided to vent his anger at all illegal immigrants and anyone who may support their cause(s).  I ended the conversation by simply stating that I would pray for him and his brother and he ended the conversation by storming off.  When dialoguing about tough and divisive issue I think it is important to realize that many of us approach these issues with a lot of emotional energy that can cloud our judgement. 
 
The second thing I think is important to clarify before we begin is we must not confuse what is legal with what is moral.  This should be obvious for

Catholics for we know that abortion is currently legal but it is not moral.  The Church encourages us to obey as many laws as possible but we should never do anything immoral. 
 
Finally, I think that it is safe to say that many of the problems we face in the world today including the issue of illegal immigration are complex issues which will take time and a number of steps in order to correct. 
 
Before we dive into the Church’s solution to the problem of illegal immigration in the United States, let us take a better look at how the Church sees the problem.  (Quotes from the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops will be in bold and my commentary will be in regular font)
 
1.         Most of this unauthorized flow comes from Mexico, a nation struggling with severe poverty, where it is often impossible for many to earn a living wage and meet the basic needs of their families. Survival has thus become the primary impetus for unauthorized immigration flows into the United States. Today’s unauthorized immigrants are largely low ‐ skilled workers who come to the United States for work to support their families.
            I think it is safe to say that the Church sees most illegal immigrants not as criminals or terrorists but more like Jean Valjean in Les Misérables.  Jean Valean’s character in the famous musical commits the crime of sealing a loaf of bread only for the noble purpose of feeding his starving sister and her young child.  If it was not for the crushing poverty he is in Jean would not have stolen the loaf of bread. 
 
In light of all of this, many unauthorized consider the prospect of being apprehended for crossing illegally into the United States a necessary risk. Even after being arrested and deported, reports indicate that many immigrants attempt to re ‐ enter the United States once again in the hope of bettering their lives.
 
Adding to this very human dilemma is the potentially dangerous nature of crossing the Southern border. Smugglers looking to take advantage of would ‐ be immigrants extort them for exorbitant sums of money and then transport them to the U.S. under perilous conditions. Other immigrants have opted to access the U.S. by crossing through the Southwest’s treacherous deserts. As a result, thousands of migrants have tragically perished in such attempts from heat exposure, dehydration, and drowning.