America's Americans?

During the doldrums of my Monday morning, a little excitement came walking down Marengo Avenue to provide some entertainment. A large group of students from a nearby high school were out roaming the streets. I sat in rapt attention at my teller window as the students proceeded to scroll past our building for a good five minutes. I knew I was observing something significant though not clearly understood.

The impetus for the great exodus of students out of classrooms and onto sidewalks has been widely publicized the last couple of days. They are reacting to the legislation being proposed in the House against illegal immigrants. They are making the issue of immigration personal – trying to show that immigration is about real families, real people in the American landscape. And, sadly, there are probably many acting selfishly and foolishly – jumping on a bandwagon that means no Algebra class for a day or two.

I can understand the urgency and foolishness of many of these students. I can easily imagine their emotions. Anger and fear at the prospects of being separated from their parents or family. Pride for what their families have accomplished and for the communities they live in.

Then there are the common psychological reasons for wanting to be a part of the crowds. Young adults and kids are notoriously ego driven. Who of us at the age of fifteen or seventeen wasn’t mildly curious if not outrightly obsessed about being on television? There may not be any greater temptation for young people than the combination of fame and acceptance, which these “walk-outs” certainly employ.

But let’s forget for a moment that these peaceful demonstrations are partly driven by adolescent motives. Let’s get back to the heart of the walk-outs: the issue of immigration.

Specifically, I’m interested in the current battle in and between the Senate and the House, which represents yet another in a long line of American “ideal” struggles these days. The anti-immigration side believes that illegal immigrants are putting a heavy and damaging strain on the American workforce and infrastructure (such as healthcare), while the other side (I hesitate to call them pro-immigration) believes immigration plays a positive if overlooked part of our economy and social structure. Plus, there’s a great deal of concern that anti-immigration policy can easily become truly anti-American, which is to say it will restrict individual freedoms and opportunities for the underprivileged.

It can be seen as another “orientation” battle – whether America’s orientation will be progressive/open or restrictive/defensive. Obviously, both sides have some legitimate arguments, and both sides also have some ridiculous solutions to the issue. And, from what I gather, the battle is occurring over the issue of place – where should immigrants be, where should they not be? Some suggest illegal immigrants be allowed to work towards citizenship while staying here while others believe they should be forced back to their native land and go through the proper channels to become a U.S. citizen.

Again, the push and pull of this argument has to do with orientation. How should we view and deal with illegal immigrants? As a Christian, I am inevitably forced to answer this question through the lens of the Old and New Testaments. And while I’ll spare you a detailed theology concerning foreigners and aliens, I believe God makes it abundantly clear that our attitude should be generous and open. Jim Wallace has done much to illuminate this area in recent years, and there’s a great section on the demand for justice and compassion in the Old Testament in Richard Foster’s book “Freedom of Simplicity.”

I’m not saying that a few scholarly names or even a few Bible verses should make our stance to immigration simplistic and easy to hold onto. Quite the opposite! What Scripture gives us as a decree is usually tremendously difficult, but, nonetheless, necessary. Such is certainly the case with justice and compassion.

Sadly, though, as I read the newspaper and discover what the majority Christian opinion is on current matters, I find there to be little concern for the issue of immigration, which is definitely concerned with justice and compassion. Even more sadly, I know it’s not because Christianity no longer has a voice in America. The voice of certain Christian leaders and groups has been made abundantly clear in recent years. But, here’s the catch. The voice of Christians has been predominantly focused on morality issues, while social issues such as immigration remain unaddressed.

Clearly, it’s much easier (and safer) to address a moral issue. It’s fairly easy to draw a line in the sand and build some consensus over what is right or wrong regarding sexuality. Meanwhile, it’s terribly difficult, confusing and demanding trying to address and tackle a social ill. It takes time, discussion, planning and often failure as progress is made little by little. But, however difficult and cumbersome the work is, it was and remains the very work that God and God’s faithful servants were committed to.

In other words, the issue of immigration is not going away – not for our country, and more importantly, not for those who seek to obey the will of God Almighty. It’s also not going to go away from my teller window, because even if there aren’t kids walking past my building in protest, I can guarantee you that some immigrant will come up to my teller window with a check for a job he has done. He will present the check in broken English as well as a “Resident Alien” card as proof of his identity, and I will have to make the decision to either pay him for his service or ignore him. The decision is easy for me. I’ll pay him, and work in the way that I can to make him know he is welcome in my community.

[note: the photo at the top of this article came from cnn.com's gallery of recent peaceful protests]