I remember as a teenager in 1980 watching a debate between George H Bush and Ronald Regan. The topic of immigration came up. The question was, "Is it fair that illegal aliens should be able to attend public schools free?" George H Bush answered first saying that he thinks children should go to school, but the bigger problem has to be solved. He said that we have made some kinds of labor illegal that he'd like to see legal, and he'd like to see a way that honorable, good, decent, family-loving people wouldn't be in violation of the law. Ronald Regan said we should work out our mutual problems and make it possible for them to come legally with work permits while paying taxes. Over the years I have seen immigration policy change with the tides. Republicans and Democrats have flipped sides a few times. For a while Republicans wanted less expensive labor for business development while Democrats, who favored union wages, wanted to restrict it. Today it has flipped again. Regardless of sides, neither party has solved the problem, as George H. Bush had hoped. While the government approaches this question searching for political advantage, how should we as Christians approach the question? For years I have been saying something that hopefully parishioners will find familiar. Our starting point for our morals and values - and therefore our actions - comes not from our political affiliation but from the Gospel message of Jesus. Our real affiliation is not found in a political party but in our identity as sons or daughters of God. When we ground ourselves in something greater than the prepackaged deals of the two dominant political parties, we can see the truth and the deficiencies of both. When we are grounded in the unchanging truth of Jesus' words and actions, we will find a voice that will affirm what is true and beneficial and challenge what is inaccurate and destructive. More importantly, when we ground ourselves in Jesus' words and actions, we become more concerned with people than ideologies and we are less likely to let agendas, trends, and political movements guide us rather than faith and reason. This week I have been reflecting on various Bible passages that speak about a human response that transcends our current political discourse and how our religious practice needs to be concerned with the poor, powerless, and vulnerable among us. The Bible tells us in various ways that the human factor takes precedence over ideologies and politics. Sacred hospitality and just treatment of immigrants are biblical core values that form part of our inherited Gospel values which we live by. For more on this, you may wish to read my blog on "Knowing and Affirming Gospel Values" which you can find on our parish website. For now, I will assume your familiarity with it because I need to get to the point: I have heard an increasingly aggressive rhetoric concerning immigration and an unwillingness to ask what our faith might have to say about it. Often, it is approached in political terms while ignoring the human component. Finally, there seems to be an underlying assumption that it is purely political and there are no Gospel values to apply to this issue. I think we can do better by working together to find a realistic solution that incorporates the wisdom of faith applied in a practical manner. I also think our faith has some important teachings that should not be ignored if we hope to move toward these goals. What does our faith tell us about immigration? The Bible is full of stories of migration and the ongoing challenge of countries who receive them to treat them justly and humanely. Abraham moved into Canaan (Israel) and his ancestors moved into Egypt where they later became enslaved. Then, with Moses, they moved back into Canaan. The Israelites were forcibly moved by the Assyrians and Babylonians. Finally, in the Persian Period, Israelites moved back home again. Even Joseph and Mary moved to Egypt for a while to escape the hardship and persecution of Herod. Israel, remembering how they were treated in their history, was commanded by God to be especially concerned with being just and generous to the immigrant, the refugee, and the helpless. God and the prophets told Israel to "have the same love for the alien as for yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt" (Leviticus 19:33-34). Jesus spoke of love and care for the stranger, the weak, and the vulnerable as an aspect of how we will be judged: "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me" (Mt 25:35). St. Paul reminds us that as children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ, we are one in faith and equal before God. Again, our common humanity supersedes other lesser differences. What we see above is a simple and consistent teaching. Any law, policy, or ideology that pertains to immigration should be rooted in love and compassion for the people who are migrating. This is simply because of the inherent dignity they hold as human persons, and it is a straight forward and clear Gospel value. We can debate on how to carry that out in the best and most practical way, but our actions should clearly reflect compassion, care, and welcome. In addition, Catholic Social Teaching (that comes to us through Church documents as well as longstanding teaching) takes these general norms and sums them up in three ways: 1. People have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families. 2. A country has the right to regulate its borders and to control immigration. 3. A country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy. Looking at these three principles listed above, it might seem that they could conflict with each other, but the teaching is intended to be harmonious. It all goes back to the question of how we best manage the situation based on what is possible. The US cannot just open its doors and permit the whole world to crash the border in a free for all. At the same time, we are called to do what is reasonable to receive those who can migrate to the best of our ability. Then, when they do come, we are challenged by our God to receive them with compassion as brothers and sisters. Some practical concerns: Immigration laws have changed over the centuries to accommodate the plight of the immigrant as well as the wellbeing of the country. Our current laws are based on the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. At the time it had support of both political parties but, as partisan politics became more divisive, adaptations of the law have not been made. There were moments such as the executive orders of Presidents Reagan and Obama, but in general no meaningful changes have occurred. It is no secret that the US has a high number of emigrants that did not enter through legal channels. The current estimate is from 10 - 15 million. Of that number, about 80 percent of their children were born in the US and are (currently constitutionally) considered US citizens. Many of the children don't know the culture or the language of their parents and many of the parents have lived in the US for years or decades. Taking official statistics, of the 11 million, 8.3 million are working and make up at least 5.2% of the US labor force. My point in the brief description above is that there are serious sociological, economical, and demographical considerations. The overly simplistic, "If they are illegal send them home" is not practical, beneficial, or moral. The impact on millions of families not to mention the economic concerns tell us that there must be a better solution. Our current political polarization isn't serving the country or the immigrants well. I think we need to be realistic and look at problem solving rather than picking a party position to dig our heals into. In my experience as a priest, I am with immigrants in many ways. I have come to know them and love them over the years and have a father's protective care for them. I have seen them shipped to Mexico while the rest of their family stays behind trying to survive. I have seen them fired without recourse because they needed to be replaced with a new batch of low wage workers. I have seen them discriminated against by renters and people with power over them. I have seen them abused and manipulated. I have also seen their faith, character, and strength. I have seen their love and their devotion and their desire to become good members of society. Finally, I see them as brothers and sisters in Christ and equal to me in dignity before God. I realize this is a difficult task but we need a more positive approach. I go back to the three tenets that I listed before: 1. People have the right to migrate to sustain their lives and the lives of their families. 2. A country has the right to regulate its borders and to control immigration. 3. A country must regulate its borders with justice and mercy. Maybe this can be a starting point along with the Biblical call to welcome and care for the immigrant with justice and compassion. Perhaps we can find a better way to control the boarder, have a realistic path to citizenship for those who are here and those who wish to come, and a way to manage immigration in a just and humane way moving forward. It won't be easy, but I know that realistic solutions are possible with resolve. How can we find a reasonable solution while at the same time following the Gospel concerns for people and especially the stranger, the weak, and the most vulnerable as Jesus asks? That is the Christian answer. Perhaps we can do our part to persuade our politicians that there is a better approach.