My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant: One day when I was 16, I rode my bike to the nearby D.M.V. office to get my driver’s permit. Some of my friends already had their licenses, so I figured it was time. But when I handed the clerk my green card as proof of U.S. residency, she flipped it around, examining it. “This is fake,” she whispered. “Don’t come back here again.”
I often feel rather conflicted about many political issues and their correlation to the Gospel vis-à-vis my own political biases. I have tried to highlight the problematic nature of this relationship in prior posts such that we might all be critical in self examination.
However, one particular area in which I feel no such tug of war, is the realm of illegal immigration and the manner in which Christians ought orient themselves in the face of the xenophobia and racism that pervades much of our national discourse.
To be a people that professes to live by the loving and compassionate example of Christ is to be especially mindful of those who are rejected, unseen, and unacceptable in the eyes of the dominant class. But above all else, to be Christ-like is to recognize AND impart the full personhood of each individual regardless of whether they have a certain piece of paper, are taking the job that you don't want to work anyway, or as the article above describes, are someone you know and respect. The legal status of an individual as determined by the state is not a moral issue in my opinion. But how we impart the dignity of Christ upon an individual, that is no doubt an issue of conscious.
-Tim
well said, tim. really, really lovely.
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