My Thoughts on Illegal Immigration

I posted this video on YouTube and have the script below. I also posted it on Facebook.

I’d like to share my thoughts on Illegal Immigration. 

I’m not proud of this, but when I was a stupid college kid, I did a fair bit of trespassing. I told myself I was just exploring, and that as long as I didn’t get caught, nobody would be affected negatively in any way. One day I got busted. I was exploring a basement below the university swimming pool with all sorts of interesting chemical tanks and pumps and motors in it. Climbing up a ladder behind some friends to the manhole exit, I heard some voices, and when I climbed out there was a flashlight shining in my face, and I was asked for ID. I insisted truthfully that I meant no harm, but truth be told, I shouldn’t have been there. The police officer had mercy, and let me off with a stern warning. 

Had he chosen to exact justice, it’s hard to know what that would look like. A fine? Suspension from certain privileges as a student? I don’t know. I don’t think jail time would be appropriate, nor expulsion from the university. Justice needs to be balanced. 

It’s through this lens that I look at the issue of illegal immigration. Yes, people should come to this country legally. Yes, we need to protect our borders. Yes, we should know who is coming in and out of our country and we have the right to say “no.” 

But if I was a college-age kid from a foreign country looking for opportunity in the United States, knowing how I was back then, I could almost see myself jumping the border, especially if I had family here, a job lined up, and if the legal route didn’t meet my budget or timeline. It would be a real win-win as long as I don’t get caught right? Now I’m not advocating for that! But I’m wiser now than I was back then. 

And then there’s the issue of those seeking asylum. If I was in that basement in college trying to save my life, I would hope the authorities would actually help me. 

I’m not going to call ICE a bunch of terrorists. I’m glad they’re cracking down on violent criminals. I’m glad we’re securing our borders, especially for reasons of trafficking drugs and human beings. 

But at the same time, it’s my understanding that under the current administration, families are being split up over infringements of the law that I don’t think merit such severe punishment. Families of asylum seekers are being split for having done nothing wrong at all. In our zeal for justice and order, or perhaps for less noble reasons, I think we’re actually doing some terrible things as a country and upending the lives of many people.  

I also think it’s important to recognize that our policies as a country have created this chaotic situation. We have a very broken immigration system. Our country needs immigrant workers to fill jobs in our economy, but the number of work permits issued doesn’t even come close to the demand. Going back to the college swimming pool basement analogy, what if for some crazy reason, it was illegal for me to be down there but at the same time, the university relied on me being down there to keep the swimming pool operational? Maybe there was a legal way to work that job but it took over ten thousand dollars to navigate the legal process, a decade or more of waiting, and maybe the job only pays minimum wage and nobody else wants to crawl down the dirty manhole entrance to do the work but me? What if I needed the money so that I could send it to my mother and grandmother so that they could eat and keep a roof over their head?

This scenario isn’t far from the truth for many immigrant workers. If you start looking into just how broken the system is and hearing the stories of immigrants, you realize that, yeah we want people to come here the legal way, but the legal way just doesn’t work for most, and so they find a work-around. I can identify with that. Lots of my friends and neighbors find work-arounds for laws that don’t work for them. Gosh it seems like you need a special permit or licence to do just about anything, and folks around here often skip that process and do what they need to do, and we just turn a blind eye as long as nobody’s getting hurt. 

Here’s another example. I’m sure we all know people who have a hard time making ends meet and accept money under the table and don’t claim it on their taxes. That’s illegal. But honestly, part of me thinks we should just let that slide. Another part of me thinks that they owe it to their countrymen to pay their taxes and that the IRS should keep them accountable. But I know these people personally, and no part of me thinks it would be right to upend their lives and tear their families apart, and I think it’s the same with the illegal immigrant who is just trying to work a job, feed his family and live a simple life. Isn’t that what our country is all about? 

If you’re so inclined, I’d appreciate you praying with me. “Lord, God, have mercy on us. Grant wisdom, courage, and humility to our leaders and to us. May we have eyes to see all people as you see them. May our laws be just. May our people be virtuous. Protect families, domestic and abroad, and guide us to the narrow way that leads to everlasting life. Amen.”