When I was a child, I got in trouble for something I did to my sister. I was told to go to the den, because my room had toys. It's not much of a punishment if the room you're banished to has toys. In the den were my family's books, among which, a large collection of “moral” books. I can't remember their names, but they were a set of books where each one focused on a different moral: lying, stealing, cheating, pride, meanness. While sitting in this room being punished, I collected together all the books that described my sisters sins and arranged them in a pile to give to her. “She really needs to read these,” I thought.
Looking back on that, I realize we treat many situations in the same way. We look at the sins in others and think, “They really need to fix that,” while ignoring the sins in us. Maybe this is why Jesus wrote, “First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” We seem to focus on the ways others have been wrong; we prefer to look at the sins others have committed against us, or in general, before examining the sin in us.
I've had to come to grips with this verse over the past few years. I've had to stop and think about the things I do before approaching someone else. I think the plank-eye verse exists because we approach others with their sin all to often before examining our own and, sometimes, if we look at our own, we'll find out that theirs only exists because of our actions.
Take my sister for example. She was quick to anger. This was mostly because it's easy to become angry when your brother is poking you.
Looking at our current immigration situation, I feel the same rule applies. Living in Arizona, the issue of immigration comes up almost every day because it's a hot topic here. But for many, it's just a hot topic, or a source of political frustration. For others, such as those who have immigrated here to work for a better life, it's a constant fear. Listening to friends who support kicking all undocumented workers out of our country (or, even more, denying citizenship to children born on US soil to foreign parents), I hear one constant, faith-based reason for doing this: They are breaking the laws. They are lawbreakers. We are to submit to government authority and those “illegals” are not doing this.
This is true; they are breaking the law. However, we seem to think that because they are committing an act that is against the Bible, then it's acceptable for us to as well. The Bible's commands focus on how we are to act, not on how we are to judge the actions of a stranger. This was what Jesus accused the Pharisees of: judging those below them in the socioeconomic structure while ignoring the sins they committed themselves. We must first look at our sins and how our actions could lead to this situation.
When we ignore immigrants, we ignore the poor. The costs of immigrating to the United States legally are staggering. So high, that a person who is in desperate need of work, who would be enticed to come here illegally, cannot begin to afford even the application. We have created a system in which we charge the poor to have the opportunity to make a little bit of that money back.
Back when I worked as an INS Citizenship Attorney, the cost of applying for U.S. citizenship was a mere $15. Over the years, the costs doubled and tripled until the filing fees were several hundred dollars. When the USCIS raised the filing fee for naturalization to $675 in 2007, the number of new applications dropped from 1.4 million to just over 525,000 in a single year.
Under [a new proposed rule], the cost of applying for a green card will increase from $930 to $985. The application fee for a family petition (I-130) will be $420, up from $355. The cost of an I-140 employment-based petition will rise over $100 and premium processing fees will increase by 22.5%.
http://shusterman.typepad.com/nation-of-immigrants/2010/06/uscis-fee-increases-dollars-and-sense.html
We have also created an economy that is based on cheap labor. Have you ever wondered where that 99 cent meal comes from? That cheap corn, inexpensive watermelon, and Chinese super buffet? It's from cheap labor, usually illegal immigrants from Mexico.
Go in the kitchen of almost any restaurant in New York and you will find a Hispanic man making the food, from French croquettes to Japanese sushi. We have created this economy, yet we demand that the people who form the base of it be legal residents who have gone through the proper procedures. So we want them to spend thousands of dollars to come here legally, but we want to maintain our system of cheap labor, condemning them to continued poverty. Coupled with this, we have written laws that would fine and deport anyone caught working illegally, driving them further into poverty. The book of Isaiah warns us of this:
Is. 10:1-3. "Woe to those who enact evil statutes, and to those who continually record unjust decisions, so as to deprive the needy of justice, and rob the poor of My people of their rights... Now what will you do in the day of punishment, and in the devastation which will come from afar?"
So what are we called to, as followers of God, to do about this issue? I believe we are called to love our neighbor, first and foremost (and yes, they ARE our neighbor). We are to befriend the alien, as we were once aliens ourselves (Deut. 10:19). We are to help the poor:
Jer. 22:3. Do justice and righteousness, and deliver the one who has been robbed from the power of his oppressor. Also do not mistreat or do violence to the stranger, the orphan, or the widow; and do not shed innocent blood in this place.
Luke 14:12-14. "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and repayment come to you. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
I believe the best manner we can help these people is allow them to work. These immigrants are not slack-jawed moochers. They are hard-working people. They stand on the corners down the street from my house looking for work, whether it be construction, landscaping, or any sort of hard, back-breaking, hot work.
If we decide to ignore them, we negate God's command to us. The Bible records some strong cautions on this:
Ezek. 16:49ff. "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it."
Ezek. 22:29,31. "The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice... Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads," declares the Lord GOD.
Jer. 5:28f. "[The wicked] do not plead the cause, the cause of the orphan, that they may prosper; and they do not defend the rights of the poor. Shall I not punish these people?" declares the LORD. "On such a nation as this, shall I not avenge myself?"
I pray that we will seek to help the alien, and not oppress him.
Note: I have been asked, “What should you say to them about their sin? Didn't Paul tell a slave to return to his master?” To this I respond, yes, I would encourage an undocumented immigrant to complete the legal process in which to become a citizen, because this is the law. But I will not judge them for not doing this, I will not report them if they don't, I will not enact laws against them in their poverty. I believe that if you are to judge, you better be willing to stand alongside that person to help bring them out of the sin you charge them with. If you judge them for skirting immigration law, you better be ready to practice radical charity and love by paying their immigration fee, hiring them if you have a business, and helping them procure a permanent residence.
This post is part of a Synchroblog, where a group of bloggers post on the same topic on the same day, so that people can surf from one to the other and get different views on the same basic topic. You will find links to the other synchroblog posts below.
Mike Victorino at Still A Night Owl -
Being the Flag
Liz Dyer at Grace Rules - Together We Can Make Dreams Come True
Sonnie Swentson-Forbes at Hey Sonnie - Immigration Stories
Matt Stone at Glocal Christianity - Is Xenophobia Ever Christlike?
Steve Hayes at Khanya - Christians and the Immigration Issue
Ellen Haroutunian - Give Me Your Tired ...
Bethany Stedman - Choosing Love Instead of Fear
Pete Houston at Peter's Progress - Of Rape and Refuge
Joshua Seek - Loving Our Immigrant Brother
Amanda MacInnis at Cheese Wearing Theology - Christians and Immigration
Sonja Andrews at Calacirian - You're Right
Comments 5 Comments
Thanks also for sharing about the cost of legally immigrating to the states - I was curious about that but hadn't had a chance to look it up. It's fascinating and terribly sad how expensive it is! My husband and I live as ex-pats in the Czech Republic and we know from personal experience what an expense and enormous headache it is to go through the visa process. Our visa's didn't cost half that much, and yet even with a steady income the cost and especially the time it took to get our visas was definitely stressful. I can't even imagine how it would be for someone struggling to find work and make a living for themselves and their family, wanting to immigrate legally and being unable to. What a sad state of affairs we have gotten ourselves into.
this is a brilliant post. Thoughful and balanced. I love that you call us to be prepared to 'act'on behalf of those we would hold to the standard of the law...by helping them with costs of legalization and finding a job. This is kingdom living.
Peace.