The human family

We are all brothers in Christ" How many times have I heard that in church. There are people of all faiths who like to be exclusive - thinking they are the only ones with "The Answer" but I was always taught that God loved us and made us brothers in Christ whether one is a believer or not. There is a lot of debate about immigration these days. These folks are dear to my heart because every day at work I see people from other countries who have given up a lot to be here. They value America, they want to become American, they want to live the dream.

The following is the proposal on the table for new immigration laws.

"The panels bill would allow the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants in this country to apply for a work visa after paying back taxes and a penalty. (Let us note that the prospect of paying back taxes and a penalty doesn't hold much appeal, accept for those people who want to be here legally or who want to do the right thing without the risk of being shipped back) The first three-year visa could be renewed for three more years. After four years, visa holders could apply for green cards and begin moving toward citizenship. ( This says apply, not that the cards will automatically be granted. These folks will at least be registered and in the incredibly flawed system already. This gives them a shot at becoming a citizen.) An additional 400,000 such visas would be offered each year to workers seeking to enter the country. (All I can say here is that it is about damned time. If we invade your country - or someone else commits genocide, you become a "refugee" enabling you to enter the states more easily - not with ease mind you, just more easily. It still might take us five years to get to you if you are still alive. In the mean time, we will send billions in supplies which some rebel faction will use for army rations. We take refuges from Kosvo, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Vietnam, Cuba and a couple of other countries. However, if you just want a better life for you and your family, you'll have to wait it out with all those other people, regardless of your country situation.)

Senators also accepted a proposal by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) that would offer 1.5 million illegal farmworkers a "blue card" visa that would legalize their status. (Again, if you do not offer a compromise, why would these folks identify themselves. There are plenty of false documents and places to hide - odds are they would never be found and actually deported. Look at all the folks we found with expired visas after 9-11. The committee also accepted a provision by Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) that would shield humanitarian organizations from prosecution for providing more than simple emergency aid to illegal immigrants, rejecting an amendment by Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) to require humanitarian groups providing food, medical aid and advice to illegal immigrants to register with the Department of Homeland Security." as reported by the Washington Post ( red commentary mine)

I have seen first hand what migrant farm workers deal with, when they work their butts off for minimum wages - no health care, no way to make things right, sending money back to their families in Mexico until they can move them here. I refuse to believe that selling everything you have to try to get into America makes someone a criminal. The African American, Anglo American, Hispanic, and Oriental idiots who form gangs and terrorize people - they are criminals. I am not naive enough to think that everyone who crosses our borders does it with the American dream in hand. Look at the Italian Mafia, look at Chinatown, look at the ghettos and Columbian drug lords and former Russian Mafioso - you don't have to look far to see the dregs of humanity in search of a quick buck in America.

But to deport 11 million immigrants, roughly a small state, is throwing out the wheat with the chaff. We cannot begin to see how many people we have "undocumented" if there is no way for those people to come forward in amnesty. And good luck catching up with the undocumented workers. NPR had an interview with a set of Texas farmers who rely on immigrant labor. They have devised a system to hide workers as the border patrol comes from place to place in search of them. These guys are otherwise law abiding citizens - and they would like to see an amnesty program to eliminate the need to operate clandestinely.

The Catholic church has long been the church of immigrants in the States - Italians, Swedes, Irish, Papist Scots - all those folks who were sent here as punishment for their crimes in Europe - and now those from Central and South America. Catholics make up fully half of all the Christians in the world - so we take our responsibility to care for immigrants pretty seriously. The Bishops have put together a letter informing people of the current congressional discussion and urging action. The letter can be found here. Most importantly, we are reminded that these immigrants are people - with families and futures and hearts and souls. In my system of belief, they are to be treated with dignity - to be treated as I would want to be treated - to be offered hope and forgiveness should that be necessary.

It seems to me that in a country that pays zillions of dollars to research the effects of cheese and make up a better tasting beef stew for Army rations, we could divert cash to taking care of our own people - but we bitch about spending anything on people. A lot of folks believe that if a person needs something he or she should have to earn it, but don't even flinch when a public building goes up that costs millions of dollars. Personal opinion here - if you think there should never be a handout, you have been blessed enough to never need one. You should thank God and stop whining about people who need - lest you become one of them someday and have to spend a day in their shoes. It sucks.

I love my country, don't get me wrong. But I have worked at enough places providing indigent care which have shown me that we marginalize people - make assumptions about their mental health, or motivation, or laziness, without knowing what the real story is. Our government systems are flawed and people get lost - and lose hope. There are people who abuse the system, but this bill isn't about those folks. They aren't going to go for amnesty - they are going to keep behaving badly in the shadows. It is about the other people who really want to be here - who want to contribute to the society legitimately.

So in honor of my great great grandfather Jacob from Ireland, who came by way of Ellis Islandwithout preapproval of the American government and lost three children here, worked as a boilermaker and raised two children who in turn raised seven more - I will continue to support the right of immigrants - because five generations ago we were the Irish - who had to go to the "other" Catholic church.