“Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame,
Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “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-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Emma Lazarus, New York City (1883)
I’m not sure how the country’s issue with illegal immigration is going to be resolved. I do, however, know where I stand. I support the recommendations hammered out by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
I do so, first, because I don’t believe the provisions of H.R. 4437 are practical, nor are they in keeping with American ideals. The provisions aren’t practical logistically. Yesterday, George Will noted that “It would take more than 200,000 buses, extending in a line 1,700 miles from San Diego to Alaska to deport 11 million people…Seventy percent of the illegal immigrants here have been here at least five years. They have roots in the community. Many of them have children born in America who are therefore American citizens. Not ripe for deportation, it seems to me.”
Mort Kondracke, commenting on the split between conservative and moderate Republicans on the issue, made the following observation:
“Now the GOP is split between fellow moderates, led by Senator John McCain, and “reconstructionists” led by Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo. If the reconstructionists “prevail, the nation will be treated to the spectacle of mass roundups of illegal immigrants.” And these “deportations will split families and produce tales of arbitrary interrogations of Hispanics.”
Today, Senator Ted Kennedy, a man I rarely agree with, told his colleagues that the cost of building the sixty miles or so of walls/fences already completed along our southern border cost U.S. taxpayers twenty billion dollars. With another 1,800 miles or so yet to be done, the cost of walling ourselves off against Mexico would be too astronomical to be taken seriously.
While I believe strongly that we need to fix the problem, I don’t believe that the House provision for fixing it is practical. It doesn’t make good economic sense.
Nor do I believe it’s in keeping with our ideals. When Nancy and I lived in New Jersey we took several day trips to see the Statue of Liberty. Seeing that Grand Lady watching over New York Harbor was always a vivid reminder to me that America is indeed a land of opportunity. Nancy’s family came here from Switzerland and Germany and carved out a good life. My mother came from Newfoundland, and while she struggled to realize the great ideals, she taught us to love and embrace them. I believe that one of this nation’s manifest destinies is to embrace its principles by embracing the “tired, the poor, the huddled masses, the wretched refuse.”
I suppose it can be argued that the 11 million immigrants now here are here illegally and shouldn’t be included among the “tired, poor, the huddled masses, the wretched refuse.” True enough. But I don’t believe the solution to the situation is to criminalize them, deport them, and then build an eighteen hundred mile wall from Texas to California.
One of the things I believe many are missing in this debate is grace. I cannot in good conscience bring myself to the place where I deem someone a criminal for trying put bread on his or her family’s table. I suppose our legislators, with enough public support, may do so. They may be able to establish the legal parameters, but they cannot, in my mind, establish the moral parameters for doing so.
I’m a bit astonished and a bit angry. Some of those crying most loudly for deportations and walls seem to have forgotten some of the acts of grace that have been bestowed upon them in their American journeys. Do they believe they got where they are without help? Do they believe that Providence had no role in the blessings they’ve received in life? Why, if so much grace has been extended to them, can’t they find grace in their hearts for those who really want to be contributing members of our society?
This morning I was reminded of one of the noblest characters in classic literature. Myriel, a Bishop, has had some of his material blessing stolen from him by Jan Valjean, a man who has just been released from nineteen years in prison for having once stolen a loaf of bread. Valjean is caught by the police and then brought before the man whose silverware he’s stolen. Valjean pleads that the silverware he’s stolen was actually given to him by the Bishop. Now, Valjean is not only guilty of theft, but of lying to the police. Yet, in a stunning act of grace, Myriel confirms what Valjean has said, then gets two candlesticks and brings them to the lawbreaker:
“My friend,” resumed the Bishop, “before you go, here are your candlesticks. Take them.” He stepped to the chimney-piece, took the two silver candlesticks, and brought them to Jean Valjean. The two women looked on without uttering a word, without a gesture, without a look which could disconcert the Bishop. Jean Valjean was trembling in every limb. He took the two candlesticks mechanically, and with a bewildered air. “Now,” said the Bishop, “go in peace. By the way, when you return, my friend, it is not necessary to pass through the garden. You can always enter and depart through the street door. It is never fastened with anything but a latch, either by day or by night.” Then, turning to the gendarmes: “You may retire, gentlemen.” The gendarmes retired. Jean Valjean was like a man on the point of fainting. The Bishop drew near to him, and said in a low voice: “Do not forget, never forget, that you have promised to use this money in becoming an honest man.” Jean Valjean, who had no recollection of ever having promised anything, remained speechless. The Bishop had emphasized the words when he uttered them. He resumed with solemnity: “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I buy from you; I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God.”
“Do not forget, never forget, that you have promised to use this money in becoming an honest man.” Jean Valjean, who had no recollection of ever having promised anything, remained speechless. The Bishop had emphasized the words when he uttered them. He resumed with solemnity: “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I buy from you; I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God.”
Am I being a bit melodramatic? I suppose. But I believe, in principle, that I’m right. America has a problem that must be fixed, but it must not be fixed by criminalizing the millions of people whose only “crime” in coming here was to attempt to escape the abject poverty of the land they came from. While there is no doubt that there are real criminals among those millions, punishing those who really want to embrace the opportunity and freedom America offers along with them is an un-American, un-Christian solution.
In August, 1864, Abraham Lincoln thanked the 166th Ohio Regiment for their service to preserve the nation. In closing his remarks, Lincoln said, profoundly:
“It is in order that each of you may have through this free government which we have enjoyed, an open field and a fair chance for your industry, enterprise and intelligence; that you may all have equal privileges in the race of life, with all its desirable human aspirations. It is for this the struggle should be maintained, that we may not lose our birthright--not only for one, but for two or three years. The nation is worth fighting for, to secure such an inestimable jewel.”
While the struggle over immigration today is not of the same order as the struggle of Lincoln’s day, the ideals he outlined are every bit as relevant today as they were then. A fair chance, an open field are all that the overwhelming majority of those who’ve come here to harvest the crops or cut the cows want. I believe we must find a way to make that happen!
Technorati tags for this post
Abraham Lincoln
George Will
Immigration
Mort Kondracke
With silent lips. “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-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Emma Lazarus, New York City (1883)
I’m not sure how the country’s issue with illegal immigration is going to be resolved. I do, however, know where I stand. I support the recommendations hammered out by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
I do so, first, because I don’t believe the provisions of H.R. 4437 are practical, nor are they in keeping with American ideals. The provisions aren’t practical logistically. Yesterday, George Will noted that “It would take more than 200,000 buses, extending in a line 1,700 miles from San Diego to Alaska to deport 11 million people…Seventy percent of the illegal immigrants here have been here at least five years. They have roots in the community. Many of them have children born in America who are therefore American citizens. Not ripe for deportation, it seems to me.”
Mort Kondracke, commenting on the split between conservative and moderate Republicans on the issue, made the following observation:
“Now the GOP is split between fellow moderates, led by Senator John McCain, and “reconstructionists” led by Colorado Representative Tom Tancredo. If the reconstructionists “prevail, the nation will be treated to the spectacle of mass roundups of illegal immigrants.” And these “deportations will split families and produce tales of arbitrary interrogations of Hispanics.”
Today, Senator Ted Kennedy, a man I rarely agree with, told his colleagues that the cost of building the sixty miles or so of walls/fences already completed along our southern border cost U.S. taxpayers twenty billion dollars. With another 1,800 miles or so yet to be done, the cost of walling ourselves off against Mexico would be too astronomical to be taken seriously.
While I believe strongly that we need to fix the problem, I don’t believe that the House provision for fixing it is practical. It doesn’t make good economic sense.
Nor do I believe it’s in keeping with our ideals. When Nancy and I lived in New Jersey we took several day trips to see the Statue of Liberty. Seeing that Grand Lady watching over New York Harbor was always a vivid reminder to me that America is indeed a land of opportunity. Nancy’s family came here from Switzerland and Germany and carved out a good life. My mother came from Newfoundland, and while she struggled to realize the great ideals, she taught us to love and embrace them. I believe that one of this nation’s manifest destinies is to embrace its principles by embracing the “tired, the poor, the huddled masses, the wretched refuse.”
I suppose it can be argued that the 11 million immigrants now here are here illegally and shouldn’t be included among the “tired, poor, the huddled masses, the wretched refuse.” True enough. But I don’t believe the solution to the situation is to criminalize them, deport them, and then build an eighteen hundred mile wall from Texas to California.
One of the things I believe many are missing in this debate is grace. I cannot in good conscience bring myself to the place where I deem someone a criminal for trying put bread on his or her family’s table. I suppose our legislators, with enough public support, may do so. They may be able to establish the legal parameters, but they cannot, in my mind, establish the moral parameters for doing so.
I’m a bit astonished and a bit angry. Some of those crying most loudly for deportations and walls seem to have forgotten some of the acts of grace that have been bestowed upon them in their American journeys. Do they believe they got where they are without help? Do they believe that Providence had no role in the blessings they’ve received in life? Why, if so much grace has been extended to them, can’t they find grace in their hearts for those who really want to be contributing members of our society?
This morning I was reminded of one of the noblest characters in classic literature. Myriel, a Bishop, has had some of his material blessing stolen from him by Jan Valjean, a man who has just been released from nineteen years in prison for having once stolen a loaf of bread. Valjean is caught by the police and then brought before the man whose silverware he’s stolen. Valjean pleads that the silverware he’s stolen was actually given to him by the Bishop. Now, Valjean is not only guilty of theft, but of lying to the police. Yet, in a stunning act of grace, Myriel confirms what Valjean has said, then gets two candlesticks and brings them to the lawbreaker:
“My friend,” resumed the Bishop, “before you go, here are your candlesticks. Take them.” He stepped to the chimney-piece, took the two silver candlesticks, and brought them to Jean Valjean. The two women looked on without uttering a word, without a gesture, without a look which could disconcert the Bishop. Jean Valjean was trembling in every limb. He took the two candlesticks mechanically, and with a bewildered air. “Now,” said the Bishop, “go in peace. By the way, when you return, my friend, it is not necessary to pass through the garden. You can always enter and depart through the street door. It is never fastened with anything but a latch, either by day or by night.” Then, turning to the gendarmes: “You may retire, gentlemen.” The gendarmes retired. Jean Valjean was like a man on the point of fainting. The Bishop drew near to him, and said in a low voice: “Do not forget, never forget, that you have promised to use this money in becoming an honest man.” Jean Valjean, who had no recollection of ever having promised anything, remained speechless. The Bishop had emphasized the words when he uttered them. He resumed with solemnity: “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I buy from you; I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God.”
“Do not forget, never forget, that you have promised to use this money in becoming an honest man.” Jean Valjean, who had no recollection of ever having promised anything, remained speechless. The Bishop had emphasized the words when he uttered them. He resumed with solemnity: “Jean Valjean, my brother, you no longer belong to evil, but to good. It is your soul that I buy from you; I withdraw it from black thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God.”
Am I being a bit melodramatic? I suppose. But I believe, in principle, that I’m right. America has a problem that must be fixed, but it must not be fixed by criminalizing the millions of people whose only “crime” in coming here was to attempt to escape the abject poverty of the land they came from. While there is no doubt that there are real criminals among those millions, punishing those who really want to embrace the opportunity and freedom America offers along with them is an un-American, un-Christian solution.
In August, 1864, Abraham Lincoln thanked the 166th Ohio Regiment for their service to preserve the nation. In closing his remarks, Lincoln said, profoundly:
“It is in order that each of you may have through this free government which we have enjoyed, an open field and a fair chance for your industry, enterprise and intelligence; that you may all have equal privileges in the race of life, with all its desirable human aspirations. It is for this the struggle should be maintained, that we may not lose our birthright--not only for one, but for two or three years. The nation is worth fighting for, to secure such an inestimable jewel.”
While the struggle over immigration today is not of the same order as the struggle of Lincoln’s day, the ideals he outlined are every bit as relevant today as they were then. A fair chance, an open field are all that the overwhelming majority of those who’ve come here to harvest the crops or cut the cows want. I believe we must find a way to make that happen!
Technorati tags for this post
Abraham Lincoln
George Will
Immigration
Mort Kondracke
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