I’m writing this piece on Indigenous People’s Day. As our country has evolved, we’ve re-evaluated the celebration of Columbus Day because Europe’s discovery of the new world caused harm to the indigenous population. We continue to uncover the truth about how Native America were treated by European explorers and settlers, and mainstream Christians are coming to terms with their past history and attempting to make amends.
We are a nation of immigrants. History tells us that the first colonists took what they could from the native people and then turned against them. The waves of Europeans who arrived here over the centuries during war and famine in their native lands were often discriminated against and disparaged once they arrived. Japanese Americans, for example, were put in internment camps during World War II. African Americans, who arrived in captivity and kept in captivity, continue to be discriminated against today and statistically, they have a harder time making a comfortable life than those of European descent.
People are suspicious of those of Jewish, Middle Eastern, and Latino heritage today. What have we learned from history? We’ve learned that the white majority and people in charge of our country act with fear when people who are not like them enter our country. Fear. Mexicans are taking our jobs, Haitians are eating our dogs, Venezuelans are taking over Aurora, Colorado. Those who are fearful of immigrants do not know the people that they deride. Studies have shown that migrants are important to our economy and make a difference in their communities.
Most immigrants are grateful to be in our country and are here legally or attempting to become legal. There’s a sign in the garden outside our door, and one of the statements is that “No human is illegal.” I believe those words point to the fact that we are foremost the human race living on planet Earth, and the boundaries between nations are arbitrary. Climate change experts expect a worldwide migration that’s already taking place as Africans migrate into Europe and South and Central Americans move into North America. This will continue as people seek refuge in places that provide food and security for families, many fleeing their homelands out of necessity. History should be our guide for immigration policies. When the Irish and Italians arrived, they were demeaned. The Eastern Europeans who came over at various times throughout our history had their own struggles when they arrived here.
There’s a fine line between taking care of the people of the world with open arms and protecting our country. This is a topic about which many have deep convictions. I believe it is our duty to take care of immigrants, whether they are Ukrainian or Mexican or Middle Eastern. All people have worth. Those who flee their countries of origin do so for a number of reasons, most of which are legitimate. I ask you — how can we send people back to their home countries where they will face repercussions for leaving? Jimmy Carter wrote “We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.” Because we know this, our country has enacted laws and policies and procedures to deal with migration.
The Pew Research Center reported in July of this year that the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States grew to 11.0 million in 2022, based on the 2022 American Community Survey, the most recent year available.
“This is the first sustained increase in the unauthorized immigrant population since the period from 2005 to 2007,” they write. “However, the number of unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S. in 2022 was still below the peak of 12.2 million in 2007.”
Those concerned about immigration at our southern border should note that the number of unauthorized immigrants from Mexico dropped between 2007 and 2022 by almost three million. From 2019 to 2022, the unauthorized immigrant population from nearly every region of the world grew. The Caribbean, South America, Asia, Europe and sub-Saharan Africa all saw increases. We are not alone. Planet Earth is changing, and we must change.
We have a global issue, it’s not just our issue. Can we believe in Jimmy Carter, a man of great faith?
Politico recently reported that “Trump’s message in Aurora, a city that has become a central part of his campaign speeches in the final stretch to Election Day, marks another example of how the former president has escalated his xenophobic and racist rhetoric against migrants and minority groups he says are genetically predisposed to commit crimes. The supposed threat migrants pose is the core part of the former president’s closing argument, as he promises his base that he’s the one who can save the country from a group of people he calls “animals,” “stone cold killers,” the “worst people,” and the “enemy from within.” He would love to send immigrants back to their countries of origin and doesn’t have an issue with children being separated from their parents.
Kamala Harris’ parents were immigrants. She understands the immigrant issue, knows what it’s like to be the daughter of immigrants. She proposed a wall to secure the border, but the bill she proposed failed in the Senate and again in May, and it included $650 million for new border wall construction. As a prosecutor, Harris had to be tough. She will continue to be tough on immigrants who are undocumented, especially those who come within our country to sell drugs. She’s had a whole career of doing so.
Vote for Kamala Harris to assure that immigrants are welcome, as we look back on who we were, and who we have become.