THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2023, IMMIGRATION PART 4

 THURSDAY, MAY 18, 2023, IMMIGRATION 4

This week I’ve written on the immigration issue - as occurring on the Texas-Mexico border.  

As I reflect on my thoughts, I think I align this with my Judeo-Christian views from Matthew 25:35-37

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes, and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.’

The verses in Matthew 25 go on 

‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Yes, these are “strangers at the border” - and we should “invite them in”!

It is a “LOVE ISSUE”.  Do I love my neighbors at the border (that I don’t know and haven’t seen)?  

I’ve quoted Dorothy Day’s statement, “I can only love God as much as the person I love the least”.  

Micah 6:8, And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Helping the border immigrants seems to be an “act of justice”, and a way of “showing love and mercy”, and being humble. 

YES - there are huge other issues.

Abraham Maslov in 1954 wrote about a hierarchy of needs.  The very foundation of needs is:

Physiological needs are biological requirements for human survival, e.g., air, food, drink, shelter, clothing, warmth, sex, and sleep.

Can we give the immigrants at the border - Food?  Drink?  Shelter? Clothing, Warmth? And Sleep?  (I’ll let them figure out the “sex” need!! <grin>)   

The economic issue is huge - how do you give shelter to the millions of immigrants at the border?  

Let’s step back and look at the current expenses.  The United States has a huge contingent of border patrols and military people at the border.  We’ve built a wall.  We have spent countless hours debating the issue (and I assume governors, presidents, congress and senate members are paid more than minimum wage - so the expense is high).  We have irritated our own population as well as the world population on this issue.  

Three weeks ago I drove to Big Bend National Park.  That trip was seven hours from my apartment - for at least four of those hours, I drove through sparsely populated areas. Yes, it isn’t an ideal place to put immigrants - but it is a place.  There are areas of Montana, North and South Dakota that are also sparsely populated.  Alaska has sparsely populated areas.  

Yes, those might not be the ‘prime’ locations that immigrants want  But, maybe some compromises can occur.  Can we work with employment firms?  If building houses is important in Texas, maybe we can have immigrants help build modular houses in barren areas and then move them to those sparsely populated areas.  

This is not a complete plan - but a plan that might be possible to “feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, and invite strangers in.”

William White emigrated from England; Jakob Youtzy came from the Netherlands, Gottfried Quaas came from Saxony, Eliza Bell Moffet came from Ireland, others in my heritage came to this country penniless and needy.  

Can we work on a solution?

Or - do we need to scratch off the tablet in Lady Liberty’s hands on the Statue of Liberty:

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Oh well, this isn’t going to change anybody’s position, but can’t this nation find ways to help solve the immigration issue?

LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS

LOVE EXTENDS TO ALL PEOPLE

KAREN ANNE WHITE, ©, MAY 18, 2023