What About the Immigrants?
Last night the negotiators for the President and House Speaker McCarthy announced they have reached an agreement on the U. S. debt ceiling. That being said, let’s turn our attention to a more important issue---immigration.
Current news reports stories about migrants from Central and South America camping out on the border, waiting to cross into the United States. They are mothers carrying infants, parents with small children walking, and others carrying their belongings in small bundles---all of them trying to reach the safety of the United States border. The picture is morally challenging to me---thousands of people suffering together from oppressive heat, little food and water, sanitation challenges, and surely much more hurt than I can imagine.
While there may be exceptions, many of these migrants are seeking what we take for granted---safety, food, housing, jobs, and a safe place to raise a family. My mind conjures up many solutions, all of which seem unwise if not impossible.
Immigration is not a new issue. The United States of America was founded by immigrants. I am told that my Huguenot ancestors fled from France to England seeking religious freedom. When they did not find religious freedom in Britain, they came to America. I have no way of knowing whether that is a true representation of my family’s pilgrimage; however, I am sure my ancestors immigrated to this country from somewhere. I am not of native American descent, though I would be proud to be so.
It seems the present will of this country founded by immigrants is to keep the “new” immigrants out. I have a friend, a naturalized citizen, who says, “Our country can’t take in the world.” When I quoted to him the inscription on our Statue of Liberty, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses longing to be free,” he said, “That’s just words on a statue; that’s not life.” What?
As you undoubtedly know, I do not solve the world’s problems with this column. Instead, I am doing what I so often do, I am asking God to intervene and help us do what is right. Would you join me in that prayer, please?
