Pick a Sin: My New Position on Illegal Immigration

I try not to get too political- in my opinion spiritual matters are vastly more important. Every once in a while, though, an issue gets to me so much that I have to address it or my head will explode and my roommate will be left with the unpleasant job of cleaning my gray matter off the walls.

In recent weeks, I've been receiving a series of email forwards that are either anti-Obama, anti-Democrat, anti-Immigration, sometimes anti-American and most certainly anti-Christian. My favorite was a forward from a member of my home church that said (The emphasis is not mine),

If Congress grants amnesty and citizenship to twenty million criminal invaders who are called "illegals", and then they vote.....we can say goodbye to the USA in fewer than five years.

Wow. I won't begin to delve into the spiritual implications of that statement. But I do want to address the illegal immigration from a economic/political perspective. I'll address some of the anti-Immigrant sentiments and see what they really imply.

1. They are breaking the law by being here.
-Who deserves to be here? Everyone who is in the US is an immigrant or a descendant of immigrants, legal or not. My mom immigrated from Germany when I was three. I'm a first-generation legal immigrant. We jumped through all the hoops and showed up at the Immigration and Naturalization Service office at four in the morning to stand in line for five hours and got our visas renewed and paid all the fees and took the Oath. We're now US citizens.
But a lot of people can't afford to do that and so they depend on lottery programs or scholarships. Or they result to coming into the US illegally. Because they can have a better life and support their families if they work in the US. And since when has Liberty (The New Colossus of Emma Lazarus) offered her embrace only to those that can afford it? Last I checked, she said,

Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

-Maybe it's a stupid law that prevents hard-working immigrants from coming to America in a legal fashion. Maybe we should change the law so that they're not coming in illegally. Right now, US Immigration policy allows workers to come in to the US when there is a shortage in a certain type of work. Let's say we kicked out all the illegal migrant workers. There would be a shortage in hard agriculture-based labor. And we'd bring them right back in based on the policy. And that would cost a lot of money. Why not just change the law to allow those already in the country to stay?

- Isn't that rewarding their bad behavior?
-Their behavior is, actually more American than those touting anti-immigration or closed-border sentiments. They want a better life in the Land of the Free. Since when is that bad?

2. But They live in ghettos and refuse to learn English!
-Well, since our law forces them into hiding, they really have little contact with native English-speakers and therefore little opportunity to learn English properly.

-Also, remember that first-generation immigrants rarely learn English properly. The second generation of these immigrants, however, is realizing the value of learning English, and without an accent. They're following the natural trend of immigrant populations.

3. But They don't pay taxes!
-Actually they do. They pay sales tax like everyone else. And since most of them rent, the landlords pay property taxes too. The only tax they don't pay is income tax, and most illegal immigrants get paid so little that if they were citizens, they'd be so far below the poverty line that they wouldn't pay income taxes anyway.

4. But They are criminals! Look at the neighborhoods where they live!
-No. Most illegal immigrants are law-abiding citizens aside from the fact that they a stupid law prevents them from legally being here. However, since any contact with law enforcement threatens deportation, they are not able to assist the local police in rooting out the REAL criminals. Give these people legal status and I bet you'll see a sharp crime drop in their neighborhoods.

5. But They hate America! Look at Them flying the Mexican flag!
-Well, honestly, America has given them no reason to love it. America has told them that they don't deserve to be here and they aren't welcome. If we would really "lift our lamp beside the golden door" then maybe they'd like us.

Finally, I have to remind you that "illegal immigrant" workers keep prices low by receiving subminimum wages. Kick them out and you'll have to hire workers under Minimum Wage laws, making prices skyrocket. No matter how we deal with this illegal immigration problem, it'll impact the economy and prices will rise. But would you rather it be because we forced millions of people into refugee camps across the border and we are watching them slowly starve to death? Or because we're finally treating them like humans instead of pack animals?

Really, immigration reform forces us to choose one "sin" over another. Which will you choose?
1. The sin of granting illegal immigrants legal residency and thereby improving the livelihood of millions?
OR
2. The sin of telling millions that the Statue of Liberty was never meant for them, of forcing them back to Mexico where there are no jobs and into refugee camps where they slowly die a stone's throw from freedom?

What would Jesus do?

P.S. If you'd like to take a realistic look at what would happen if we sent all the illegal migrant workers back to Mexico, read This Article.