WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2023 - IMMIGRATION - DAY 3

 WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 2023 IMMIGRATION PART 3

Genesis 1:27, “So God created mankind in his own image.”

Immigrants are humans, we are humans.  

1 Peter 3:8-9 “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”

This week I’ve been looking at immigration.  I’ve been using a study from the CATO institute:

https://www.cato.org/blog/14-most-common-arguments-against-immigration-why-theyre-wrong

One of the standard arguments is “Today’s immigrants don’t assimilate like immigrants from previous waves did.”

Looking at the current immigration factors - a large number of Mexico and Hispanic peoples actually have an easier time of assimilation.  In my community there are maybe ten churches with Spanish worship services.  The standard tends to be the Catholic parish that has a priest of Mexican background, the local Catholic Bishop has a Hispanic background, even their monthly newsletter had an equal number of pages in English and in Spanish.  

If an immigrant family wants to get involved there are many cultural events that mimic traditions in Mexico, Central and South America.  

Also, in my community the public schools have some Spanish only classes and in every building, there are Spanish speakers in every building.  

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“Immigrants are a major source of crime.”

The report describes major crime statistics.  Generally speaking, immigrants have a lower crime rate.  (Maybe they are scared they will be sent back to their native country).

For instance, the annual chance of being murdered in a terrorist attack committed by a foreigner from 1975 through the end of 2015 was about 1 in 3.6 million per year. (That’s pretty low!!!)

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 “Immigrants won’t vote for the Republican Party—look at what happened to California.”

“This is an argument used by some Republicans and conservatives to oppose liberalized immigration. They point to my home state of California as an example of what happens when there are too many immigrants and their descendants: Democratic Party dominance. The evidence is clear that Hispanic and immigrant voters in California in the early to mid‐​1990s did turn the state blue but that was as a reaction to California’s GOP declaring political war on them. Those who claim that immigration‐​induced change in demographics is solely responsible for the shift in California’s politics have to explain the severe drop‐​off in support for the GOP at exactly the same time that the party was using anti‐​immigration propositions and arguments to win the 1994 election. They would further have to explain why Texas Hispanics are so much more Republican than those in California are. Nativism has never been the path toward national party success and frequently contributes to their downfall. In other words, whether immigrants vote for Republicans is mostly up to how Republicans treat them.”

In Texas, there are numerous state legislators with Hispanic backgrounds that are Republicans.  They have been wooed by the Texas Republican party.  

But nationally, the various sanctions promoted by former President Trump’s administration may have hurt the Texas efforts.  (Building a wall “to keep people out” wasn’t a very inviting action).  

Political parties have the ability to adjust platforms to be more accommodating to immigrants - with funding for dual-language programs, health care and more.  

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“The brain drain of smart immigrants to the United States impoverished other countries.”

Many immigrants send more back “home”.  The traditional immigrant family has working parents who will contribute to the economy and not drag it down with welfare, or abuse of social programs.  

Smart immigrants (say medical professionals) will help the United States economy by paying Federal Income Tax, sales tax, property tax, state taxes.  

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To me, it is back to the concept of, what is the greatest command - “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself”.  Who is my neighbor?  

Where is the Spirit of the New Colossus Poem 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!”

The United States has assimilated immigrants for over 300 years (including those at Plymouth Rock and Jamestown).  For those of you reading this, unless your heritage is that of Native Americans, then your heritage is also that of an immigrant. 

Why are we being so selfish?  Why don’t we care for the poor of the world, and help those that want to be viable citizens of this country?

Yes, LOVE WINS

LOVE TRANSFORMS
Karen Anne White, ©, May 17, 2023