Immigration Couldn't Be Ignored

I was naïve.  Megan and I started ministering to immigrants in 2005 and I thought this would be all about sharing the gospel of Christ.  I thought we would share in word and deed and our acts of service would show compassion.  I was sure moving to the neighborhood would help make us equal participants in our community together, but certain things would make this nearly  impossible.  One of those things was the divide between legal and illegal, native born and foreign born, and affluence and poverty.  I could proclaim the gospel and make disciples, but other realities were beyond my ability to change.

My heart became troubled over the circumstances that caused much of this and I began asking, Why do adults come to this country illegally when they knew the rules?  Why do we help educate immigrant kids, but aren’t willing to help them beyond graduation?  Why are some business owners taking advantage of immigrants?  Why does our government seem to ignore the problems?  How should we respond?  I didn’t like the answers and in my desperation to understand I kept coming back to God’s love.  I saw the faces of my neighbors and I remembered the repeated call in scripture to take care of the foreigner living among us.  I was convicted!  Then compassion moved me to look deeper into what it means to live incarnationally and I came to the conclusion that I needed to advocate on behalf of my neighbors.

This led me to work on behalf of immigration advocacy.  So, I began sharing the stories and realities of immigrant lives with Mission Adelante’s church partners and volunteers.  I testified to the brokenness of our immigration laws which are rarely and randomly enforced and helped to dispel common myths in the media.   I found that some evangelical leaders were already part of an effort to see immigration reform and it felt perfect to join in.  As a result, we locked arms and I traveled to Washington, DC three times this year to meet beside them and visit with our legislators.  We never once tried to offer a magic solution; we sought change.  We stood behind six basic principles of the Evangelical Immigration Table and asked for lawmakers to draft and pass legislation with these in mind (1. Respects the God-given dignity of every person, 2. Protects the unity of the immediate family, 3. Respects the rule of law, 4. Guarantees secure national borders, 5. Ensures fairness to taxpayers, 6. Establishes a path toward legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent residents).

While I never intended for immigration advocacy to ever be part of our ministry, I cannot deny its importance.  I have lain awake at night contemplating its consequences and I believe God looks down with concern on those who are vulnerable.  My hope and prayer is that He is glorified as we love our neighbor as ourselves.  May He show us how this looks!  Pray for immigrants, pray for our leaders, pray for the Mission Adelante.