Some lessons don't come easy

There are things we don't like to learn about ourselves. Danny Wright talks about when we need help seeing our flaws:

"I was standing ready to defend my ground to the death when it occurred to me that all three of my adversaries loved me and were not trying to win an argument, but were trying to expose a blind spot."

Recommended reading.

Immigration reform and Christianity 4 (of 4)

Previously: part 1 - justice in immigration reform, part 2 - mercy toward the poor in Mexico, part 3 - those already here

Having offered my take on what the biblical concepts of justice and mercy (especially toward the poor) might have to offer on the immigration reform debate, I'd like to now give you my thoughts on what shape a comprehensive solution to the immigration situation would take.

We have to deal with both the supply of and the demand for illegal labor. To that end, I’d like to see the border closed down tight (for many reasons) and labor laws strictly enforced. There should be serious consequences for hiring illegal laborers. Also, the loose ends of the government need to be tied up – e.g., the IRS needs to be required to let authorities know when they find that people are using falsified tax ID numbers (they currently don’t).

Next, having enforcement of labor laws in place, we can require those who are here illegally to pay an appropriate fine in exchange for a green card. It will take some time for our situation to settle down a bit as people realize that they will have to get legal to work. At the same time, we need to start working, again, on the supply side and require Mexico to make some serious, demonstrable economic reforms.

After that, we can implement a guest worker program as well as loosened requirements for permanent immigration from Mexico once we have an idea of how many more Mexican workers we can absorb. As I said last time, I would not allow legalized illegal immigrants to gain citizenship without returning to their country of origin and getting in the back of the line.

With all that said, sometimes we let the perfect get in the way of the good. Reasonable people in both parties disagree with each other and the other party about what a just as well as practical solution is, and in the end a bill that can get through Congress is going to be a compromise. We have to work for the best solution we can while accepting that we will not get everything we want. I think the most important thing to remember as we leave this topic is that, to God, why we do something is as important as what we do.

Between Two Worlds: Immigration Reform Bill

Justin Taylor has helpfully compiled the links to Hugh Hewitt's posts about the current immigration reform bill (after reading the entire thing in a weekend, God bless him).

Immigration reform and Christianity 3

Previously we've look at the notions of justice and mercy toward the poor in the immigration reform question. Now we'll look at the question: What do we do about the millions of illegal immigrants already in the US?

First, a little context to spread some light on my feelings. I know a lot of immigrants. A whole lot. At my work, you can’t throw a stick without hitting an immigrant (which, incidentally, they don’t like). They’re good folks who did things the right way – they waited their turn, go to great lengths to follow the rules, and live with all the hassles involved.

One in particular is a nice lady named Rosalind. She’s an immigrant from Great Britain. She waited more than 20 years for her sister to be able to join her here. There were other options, for instance her sister could have come on a tourist visa and overstayed, but they took the long and drawn out legal route. I’m sure you won’t be surprised that she, like so many legal immigrants, has some pretty sharp things to say about illegal immigration.

Legal immigrants will ask why illegal immigrants should profit from their crimes, and it is a reasonable question. It is also reasonable to ask, though, if it is practical to try to expel millions of people, most of whom are doing some kind of useful work.

Now, in these debates, the term “amnesty” gets thrown around a lot. Amnesty has been variously used, but in its truest form, it means to let an offender off without any punishment. A blanket amnesty of millions of people would send a poor message to everyone in this country and to those who might be tempted to enter the country illegally in the future – i.e., lay low for a while, they tend to grant amnesty every 20 years or so.

What is proposed in the current bill, however, is not amnesty in that sense. The proposal is that those who have been in the country illegally would have to pay thousands of dollars in fines to get citizenship. We can debate whether or not this is a sufficient penalty for illegally entering the country, but we should not call this amnesty, and continuing to do so will only continue our tradition of talking past each other on this issue.

Now back to the question: So how do we balance justice and mercy in this situation? My inclination is to allow those who are already in the country illegally an avenue to become legal residents (probably with accompanying fines). This ought to be pared with a crackdown on border security and a crackdown on employing illegal workers to prevent a fresh influx of people trying to get in on this deal and to prevent those who are here from thinking they can go on with business as usual. To preserve the notion that law breakers should be punished and to honor those who came here the right way, those here illegally should not, in my humble opinion, be able to earn citizenship without going back where they came from and getting at the back of the line.

There’s more to be said, but this has gone on long enough. Next time: my thoughts on what a comprehensive solution would look like.

Immigration reform and Christianity 2

What about the poor?

Last time we talked about how to apply the Christian Faith to the current debate over immigration reform, and we looked specifically at the biblical concept of applying the law equally to everyone regardless of their economic situation. But if we stop there, we’ve only considered half of the biblical data. The Lord commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves and specifically to do kindness to the poor. What does that involve in this situation?

First, we should say that the application of the law fairly doesn’t necessarily mean lacking mercy. In the current situation, illegal aliens are part of an underground economy that does not afford them the same protections that those in the legal economy have. This leaves them vulnerable to illegally low pay, unsafe working conditions, and the constant threat of loss of their pay and maybe even deportation if they complain. Changing this situation is a good thing for them.

Now we can move on to what else to do to help these people. First off, it is pathetic that a nation as poor as Mexico sees it's best avenue for economic growth to be sending its working class to another country. I know changing an economy is going to be hard work, but they are not just taking the easy way out but also the self-destructive way. As American citizens, we need to pressure our government to insist (and also assist) the Mexican government reform, realign, restructure – whatever is necessary – their economy. There has been progress in this area, but there is room for so much more.

Secondly, I am in favor of making it easier for Mexicans to enter the US to work. One of my chief complaints about the currently favored bill is that it makes it easier for skilled Mexican workers to come to the US. Both of them. Apparently the authors of this "compromise" think we're talking about China. We do not generally have a shortage of skilled workers, and Mexico does not have a surplus. We should allow in what they have.

I'm in favor of the temporary worker program and increased immigration (i.e., permanent residents on the road to citizenship) in numbers that our economy can handle (an important caveat). I'm not equipped to say how many Mexican workers/immigrants our economy can absorb, but we all know it is not an unlimited number. We must require our legislators to use common sense in this endeavor because over burdening our economy will help no one.

In summary, if our immigration laws are unjust (that is, they are not in accord with God's law), we can and should work to have them changed. But we have to be careful to change them wisely and not simply react emotionally to the situation.

But what about those who are already here? Let's talk about that next time.