This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Health & Fitness

You Lucked Out!

You didn't do anything to earn your U.S. citizenship! You lucked into it! i

TODAY, Friday, May 31, a broad cross-section of groups will rally in Tampa in favor of legalization for all undocumented immigrants, culminating a week of action all around the country. Meanwhile, the millionaires in Congress debate “comprehensive immigration reform,” which, as it turns out, provides a long, restrictive, and expensive path to legalization…are you surprised? I’m not. The powerful are always zealous in guarding what they have.

 

Undocumented non-citizen immigrants have been enriching this country, in many ways, from even before its founding. Africans were brought to provide labor on the plantations. Chinese and Irish provided almost all the labor to build the transcontinental railroad (only to be shunted aside later). In the twentieth century, Hispanic peoples began to migrate to work in the agricultural fields. Most immigrants have, and continue to, work at jobs with extremely low wages, in harsh working conditions, jobs that most Americans would not take, to provide those very same Americans with a higher standard of living than they would otherwise have. At the same time, they have enriched us with cultural diversity. It’s not an overstatement to say that America would not be the nation it is today without immigrants.

Find out what's happening in Dunedinwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

At one level, considering the contributions of immigrants, it’s hard to understand why America wouldn’t want more…cheap labor, good work ethic, etc. At another level, though, we’ve managed to take advantage of the lower living standards in their native countries to enrich ourselves. Not such a pretty picture. And now the millionaires (you know, the ones who have gained the most from immigrant labor) who govern us propose to place roadblocks in the way of immigrants who are already here! Apparently we have enough cheap labor to keep them comfortable for many years to come.

Find out what's happening in Dunedinwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

 

I don’t know about your Christianity, but mine is one of extravagant welcome of those who are “different.” Jesus said, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me,” and I take that very seriously. It is in the stranger that we find love; it is in diversity that we find community. In his beautiful and deeply-faithful song “All Are Welcome,” Marty Haugen writes, “Let us build a house where love can dwell, and all can safely live.” The concept of “all” is one of the most powerful in our Bible; God breaks down the walls to demonstrate an unbounded love for all people. What part of “all” don’t we get?

 

The vast majority of Americans, including myself and probably you, did nothing to deserve or earn our American citizenship; by luck alone we were born into it. Isn’t it a bit arrogant to deny what we didn’t lift a finger to earn to someone else who has worked hard for America? Why is it so hard to be gracious? God sure doesn’t find it hard to be gracious towards us! The overarching call of faith is to welcome the stranger, and we need to make sure our leaders hear that message loud and clear.

 

Join with me and many others tonight at 6:00, as we gather in front of Sen. Marco Rubio’s Tampa office to call for immigrant legalization. It’s at 3802 Spectrum Blvd.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?