Immigration

May 1 was “A day without immigrants”, although here many of them worked; the Thomas Farm for example worked theirs. The Methodists Association Represent the Case of Hispanic Americans (MARCHA) joined this protest. The Women’s Division of the Methodist Board of Global Ministries has decided to make immigrant and refugee rights a priority.

I believe that as Christians, no matter what we believe and how we feel we must turn to the bible for our answers. We must also ask ourselves, the popular phrase, “What would Jesus do?” However, we must think about that carefully and truly consider and pray for guidance about the answer.I know this topic brings out emotions in others. In our community, illegal immigrates are a vital part of our economy, whether we like it or want to acknowledge it or not.

Personally, I feel if we make them legal taxpaying citizens and entitle them to the same rights as all citizens we are not only following in our founding father’s footsteps but also in Jesus’. But I urge not to take my word for, as this issue is complex and it has a lot of long term consequences and considerations no matter which side of the fence you may be on.Many of the immigrants are from countries where there is oppression; persecution, war, and repression are common.

The Bible commands us to welcome the stranger. Immigration provides us the opportunity the share the word of God with those who may not have heard it otherwise. God does not distinguish among arbitrary divisions such as country of origin, He desires all to be included in the kingdom of God, and although we must follow the laws of the land in which we live, if the laws do not answer to the higher laws of God, we must be willing to stand up and demand that they be changed.In America, we are in a unique situation to show how Christian we truly can be. Our history is one of immigration (with the exception of the Native Americans).

It is a complex issue, but there are answers. Here are some things you can do:
1. Pray
2. Send the attached letter to President Bush
3. Go to the Sojourner’s website, send the letter they propose to your congressmen and senators.