Migrations then and now

Immigration is the issue du juor. It is an issue that divides Americans (and many other countries as well). The House passed a bill that would criminalize (as a felony) illegal immigration, criminalize hiring of illegals, authorize the building of a wall to separate the US from Mexico, and then most distressing of all, it would criminalize charitable actions on the part of religious and non-profits to provide humanitarian assistance to undocumented persons.

The nation seems evenly divided -- which shouldn't surprise us -- on this issue. I think it's a good place to start, to consider that we are all immigrants or the descendants of immigrants. My ancestors came from England, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, and Holland to start a new life. There is no one in America, not even Native Americans, who are not descendants of migrants. It may have been 1000's of years ago or yesterday, but that's the lay of the land.

I do believe that something must be done to deal with the influx of undocumented persons -- but I'm not sure building more walls (remember the Berlin Wall) and criminalizing charity is the way to go. At base it's important to remember that our economy depends on this segment of the population to work our farms, clean our hotels, cook our food, and clean the dishes. They mow our lawns and clean our houses. Eleven million are in the country illegally. Most work hard in the hope that they can live a better life -- and wasn't that the goal of my ancestors.

Finally, it's good to remember that the Bible continually speaks of caring for the alien -- the foreigner.

"When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not
oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the
citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in
the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God" (Leviticus 19:33-34).

I think that's a good thing to remember. The picture above is of a water station in the Arizona desert provided by Humane Borders --http://www.humaneborders.org/

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