So our generation’s question must be, Will we extend our hands or will we show them a clenched fist? Will we side with the inflammatory anti-immigration rhetoric or will we follow the Scriptures and affirm the dignity and worth even of the “illegal” that might live next door?Continue Reading →
So many of us, surrounded in our homes and neighborhoods by others who look just like us, refuse to see the undocumented immigrant. They are underground. We turn our heads. As a result, there is an entire group of people at risk—at risk of dissolving, disappearing, becoming invisible men and women. This dissolution should hurt the deepest part of any soul who follows Christ because it is those at risk, those who others refuse to see, who Christ reaches for, and says “I see you and blessed are you.”Continue Reading →
Though just a small simulation, my “undocumented” day has helped me to be a bit more compassionate. As I went to sleep that night, I prayed for the undocumented young people I know—and the many others like them—whose lives are so challenging.
My challenge to you would be to “become the stranger” for a day, as well, ideally with a small (or large) group from your church, college campus, or youth group. We can provide you with the hand stamps and all that you need to get started. Putting yourselves in the shoes of an undocumented immigrant does not answer the policy questions of how we respond to our nation’s immigrations problems—but it might just expand our hearts.Continue Reading →
The story leading up to the day we got those deportation orders is complicated. My mom, biological dad, and I emigrated to the U.S. from China when I was three. We were on our way to becoming permanent residents when my parents divorced. My mom lost the right to be included under my dad’s employer-sponsored permanent residency application. Having no other means at the time to attain permanent legal status, she outstayed her visa and became undocumented. My step-dad came into the country illegally to work, and remained that way ever since. My mom and step-dad’s deportation notices came out of the blue. It came after they married, had children, began running their own restaurant, and lived many years of everyday life. In that instant, their normal expectations of continuing to work hard at their business, save for retirement, and raise their children to adulthood together in the community they had come to call home suddenly reversed into unattainable wishful thinking.Continue Reading →
In the world of policy it is easy to forget that policy affects people.
It’s certainly not that I don’t interact with undocumented immigrants. I’m sure I brush their shoulders everyday on the train as they’re riding to work. I’m sure I consume food they cook, purchase products they make, and lived in homes they’ve built. My everyday existence is deeply connected to a group of people that is more of a number to me than a face.Continue Reading →
