Immigration - A Long Way from Home, by Rev. Michael McGee, Sun., Oct. 17, 2010

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"Immigration - A Long Way from Home"

        I've been thinking recently about people who live in the dark. I was thrilled to see the 33 Chilean miners rescued this week after spending two months underground. And I was inspired that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese dissident who was sentenced to 11 years in darkness for promoting free speech. There are many others who live in darkness, including millions of immigrants across our planet who are a long way from home and must remain hidden in the shadows to avoid the prejudice and persecution that haunts them.

        From the beginning of our nation's history immigrants have been feared, harassed, and victimized, even though almost everyone in this country is either an immigrant or descended from them. Without immigrants our nation would not be a nation.

        And yet all across our land, states and communities are attempting to legislate the removal of undocumented immigrants – or “illegal aliens” as many call them – as if they were invaders from outer space. The new law in Arizona authorizing police to arrest individuals who cannot show documents proving that they are in the country legally has divided that state and our nation. The law would legalize racial profiling and “breathing while undocumented,” as one columnist put it. It reminds me of the New Yorker cartoon that shows a policeman escorting a handcuffed man to a patrol car while telling him, "Anything you say with an accent may be used against you." Have we already forgotten that the system of internal passports was one of the most repressive features of life in Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and apartheid-era South Africa?

        A federal judge has blocked central provisions of the Arizona law from taking effect, backing the Obama administration's claim that the federal government has authority in immigration matters. But in other states, including Virginia, and in many communities, vigorous efforts are being made to remove immigrants.

        If you saw the documentary, “Liberty 9500”, which was shown in our church two weeks ago to a full house, you know that Prince William County, just a 30 minute drive from here, was engulfed in an explosive battle over immigration policy when elected officials adopted a law requiring police officers to question anyone they have "probable cause" to suspect is an undocumented immigrant – similar to the law in Arizona.

        Many residents decided to organize against this racist legislation using YouTube videos and virtual town halls, and they succeeded in reversing the decision after a hard-fought struggle. I was deeply moved by watching this film, seeing the faces and hearing the voices of people who were repeatedly denigrated and denied their basic human rights, and yet who would not give up.

        Everyone agrees that we need immigration reform, but few agree on the kind of reform we need. In spite of billions spent on fences, raids, patrols, and prisons, the number of undocumented immigrants has increased since 1992 from 4 million to 12 million, and they now account for 3 to 5% of our population. They are also a part of our economic and social fabric, providing a large percentage of essential unskilled labor.

        Having little opportunity to legally immigrate has meant that illegality has become the norm. “The Washington Post recently calculated that 'with roughly 1.6 million immigrants in some stage of immigration proceedings, the government holds more detainees than Clarion Hotels have guests, operates nearly as many vehicles as Greyhound has buses, and flies more people each day than do many small U.S. Airlines.” [Detention Watch Network]

        The result has been chaos and pain. It’s hard for most of us to imagine the terror and suffering experienced by undocumented immigrants. Families have been uprooted from their homes and communities, sent back to their nation of origin where they may be vulnerable to political retribution or economic deprivation. Children have been separated from parents. And all undocumented immigrants live in darkness, fearful that they will be discovered and returned.

        I sometimes imagine what I would do if I lived in a country where my family could barely survive, and there was an opportunity for me to cross the border into a more prosperous land so I could provide for them. I hope I would have the courage to do it.

        But there is a lack of sympathy for those who seek to improve their lives by coming to our country. In fact, I'm shocked by the anger, racism, and hatred directed towards immigrants, both documented and undocumented. In Prince William County, some of the anonymous emails on a web site of an anti-immigration organization described immigrants as animals, and they were threatened with lynching. This dehumanizing attitude reminds me of the bullying against young gay people that's causing a rash of suicides. Don't they realize that these are human beings, like you and me, who simply want to make a decent living? I wonder what kind of darkness people live in to have so much hate in their hearts towards those who are different? I'm reminded of the words of Anne Lamott: “You can safely assume that you've created God in your own image when it turns out that God hates all the same people you do.”

         Much of this stereotyping and animosity comes from ignorance of the facts. There are many myths about immigrants that need to be dispelled. One myth is that immigrants take jobs from American workers. But the facts show that immigration has a positive effect on the American economy as a whole and on the income of native-born workers. Immigrants tend to have different skills, which allow higher-skilled native workers to increase productivity and income. And they are more likely to pay taxes than to use public services. Just imagine what would happen if the 12 million undocumented immigrants disappeared. Our economy would be devastated.

        Then there's the myth that today's immigrants are not integrating into American life like past waves did. The same accusation has been made against virtually every group of immigrants in our history. Today, as before, immigrant integration takes a generation or two. Learning English is a key, and our church sponsors classes in English As A Second Language to help immigrants improve their skills. Providing good schools for immigrant children is another key.But passing laws that keep immigrant children from attending school or from being eligible for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities, keep them from becoming productive citizens and threatens to create a permanent underclass.

        Perhaps the biggest myth is that immigration is unfixable. Building our walls higher and forcing undocumented immigrants to return will not solve this crisis. We need a common sense approach that will be fair and realistic. First of all, we need to create legal avenues to enter the U.S. by providing visas and a path to permanent residence over time for those who would not displace native workers.

        Undocumented workers need an opportunity to come out of the shadows by registering with the government, going through security checks, and being allowed to earn permanent legal status. We also need to reduce the multi-year backlogs that require 7 to 10 years for U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents to reunite with their close family members.

         Finally, by creating legal channels for those immigrants who wish to contribute to our prosperity, the resources that have been used to track them down can be diverted to establish effective security and enforcement against real terrorists.

         This reform can transform immigration from a crisis that divides us to a reality that can return our nation to its prominence as an economic and moral leader in the world. One step in that direction is to pass the DREAM act, which would create a path to citizenship for undocumented young adults who have lived in the U.S. for 5 years.

        I'm proud that our Unitarian Universalist Association as well as our church is on the forefront of immigration reform. At our last General Assembly, we decided that Immigration As A Moral Issue would be a study/action issue for the next four years. Our church is also making immigration it's primary social justice issue for this year. And Rev. Carlton will be leading a discussion on the book “Getting Immigration Right” to help us do that.

        An Action of Immediate Witness was also passed to Oppose Anti-Immigrant Measures in Arizona and other states and to Hasten Federal Immigration Reform. And we decided that our General Assembly in June, 2012, which is scheduled for Phoenix, will be a Justice GA where as a denomination we will bear witness for immigration reform and other justice issues.

         Our congregation is also committed to stand on the side of love when it comes to immigration reform. Realizing that relationship is the most effective tool for social justice work, we have entered into relationships with those in power, those in our community, and those in our faith to bring about what Dr. King called “The Beloved Community.”

        Through our leadership in VOICE, Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement, we are seeking to reduce the unacceptable backlogs in processing applications of legal immigrants in our area. And we are working with elected officials to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

        Through our Northern Virginia Legislative UU Priorities Group (LUUP), we are preparing to fight a bill that would turn our state into another Arizona, harassing people of color and making it illegal to give support and aid to undocumented immigrants in any way. We have also been developing a relationship with our neighborhood Buckingham immigrant community.

        By sponsoring accompaniers in Guatemala to help safeguard human rights, we have come to know the immigrants in our community, many of whom are from Guatemala. We're also helping to pay for the education of Mayan high school students. And our Buckingham Outreach Committee has opened the doors of our church to our neighborhood, sponsoring dinners, concerts, and lectures.

         Two years ago a group from our church traveled to Guatemala on a “Just Journey” sponsored by the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee. We learned about the murder of more than 200,000 civilians by the military during the 1980s and 90s and the continued human rights abuses. This trip gave us a sense of what many of the immigrants in our area have experienced and the political and economic reasons for their coming to this country.

        In two weeks, twelve of us from UUCA, including myself, will return to Guatemala to learn more about that nation's political struggles. One of our stops will be Concepcion, the town where many of our Buckingham neighbors come from. And we will return with a commitment to use what we learn to build better bridges of understanding with immigrants and to work for effective reform. We will share our reflections and experiences with you on Sunday, November 14th.If you're going on that journey, could you please stand so that the congregation can thank you for representing us?

        As you can see, we're doing a great deal to reach out to the immigrants in our community, to learn from their rich culture, and to support them in their struggle for human rights. I hope you will join in this effort to help these human beings who have no voice in our society. And in the coming election, I hope you will vote for candidates who support comprehensive emigration reform.

        This is not just a political issue; it's a spiritual and moral issue when we recognize that we are our brothers' and sisters' keepers. In every age there are those who are persecuted for their differences, and it's the duty of those who are willing to listen to their conscience as well as the dictates from every religion, to stand on the side of love.

        Let me share an example given by Karen Musalo, while acting director of the International Human Rights Clinic. She tells the story of “a Japanese diplomat, Chiune Sugihara, who was assigned to his country’s consulate in Lithuania in the early 1940s. Jews who fled from Poland into Lithuania needed permission to pass through the Soviet Union and Japan in order to continue to other destinations.” One day not long after he took up his post he found three hundred desperate people, some who had walked all the way from Poland, standing outside his consulate, begging for his help.

        He had already been officially forbidden to help any Jews seeking to escape the Nazis. He knew to act was to endanger not only his own life, but the lives of his family. He “made his decision after consulting with his family and listening to his five-year old son ask, ‘If we don’t help them, won’t they die?’” Before his arrest and deportation, Sugihara issued more than two thousand exit visas. Because he listened to his own conscience, today there are an estimated fifty thousand people who claim descent from what are called “Sugihara’s Jews.”

         May each of us have the courage to listen to our conscience and to stand on the side of love, welcoming the stranger in our midst and working for life-saving immigration reform.

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Sermon Resources

• “Breathing While Undocumented,” by Linda Greenhouse, NYT, 10/7/10
• “Five Myths About Immigration,” by Doris Meissner, Washington Post, Sunday, May 2, 2010
• “Getting Immigration Right: What Every American Needs To Know” edited by David Coates and Peter Siavelis
• “Immigration Challenges: Welcoming the Stranger”, sermon by the Rev. Jim Eller, All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church Kansas City, Missouri, November 26, 2006
• “Welcoming Our Neighbors: A Unitarian Universalist Guide to Immigrant Justice”