What would Jesus do....about immigration?

In the 90's, several kids (and even some adults) started wearing bracelets with WWJD woven into them:  What Would Jesus Do?  The phrase quickly caught on and became even more popular than the bracelets.  In light of recent events related to immigration, I can't help but think, What would Jesus do?  Would He force people back to their countries, insisting that they don't belong here?  Would He accuse them all of being criminals?  Would He forbid them from receiving a quality education simply because they haven't mastered the language?  Most would agree that the answer to each of these questions is no; Jesus would not do these things!  

Over and over again in the New Testament we see a humble man who showed compassion to everyone He met regardless of their circumstances.  For example, He healed the woman with an issue of blood for 12 years even though everyone else had shunned her (Matthew 9:20-22).  He healed lepers and demon-possessed, the lame, blind, mute, and maimed.  It didn't matter the disease or how infectious it was; Jesus was willing to touch even the dirtiest and most rejected of society and make them whole again.  He even ate with sinners in an effort to show them the light (Matt. 9:10-13).

Unfortunately, in today's times, it seems that so many have forgotten what it means to show a light to those who are hurting and have special needs.  We judge too quickly and empathize too slowly.  We have discarded the words of Jesus when He said, "Judge not, that you be not judged.  For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged..." (Matthew 7:1-2, NKJV).  

Jesus went about "all the cities and villages" (Matt. 9:35).  If someone had come to him from another country or village to be healed, would he have turned them away?  Would He have said, "Sorry, I can't heal you today because you're still an alien.  Come back when you're a citizen."  Of course not!  When he fed the multitude of 5,000 after delivering the sermon on the mount, there were probably many people who walked from very far away to hear His message.  But did He tell his disciples, "We only have enough food to feed the local people and everyone else can go hungry."  Of course not!

Our Savior also showed the importance of accepting people from other nations.  When He talked to a woman from Samaria at the well, she couldn't believe that a Jew was talking to her, "For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans" (John 4:9).  After Peter saw the vision of the clean and unclean animals coming down in a sheet, he understood that he was now to preach the gospel not just to the Jews but also to the Gentiles.  He later told Cornelius, "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation.  But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean" (Acts 10:28).  Which people do you think of as unclean?  Which people would it be hard for you to share the gospel with?  Instead of Jews vs. Gentiles, we could easily put ourselves in Peter's shoes:  Americans vs. ___________________ (any other nationality!)

Jesus also understood that there were times that the people may need to flee because of persecution.  As He told His disciples in Matthew 10:23, "When they persecute you in this city, flee to another."  If someone had come to Jesus seeking asylum due to unsafe conditions in their country, do you think He would have said, "Sorry, no more refugees today.  Find another place to go."   Definitely not!

Not all of the immigrants followed the law to come here.  It's true.  Not all immigrants follow the law after coming to this country.  Also true.  But that doesn't mean we should show them any less compassion.  It could be that they endured extreme suffering before coming to this country that we can never begin to fathom because most of us will never experience anything remotely similar.  It could be that the ones who came here illegally actually have far more reasons to be here than the ones who came legally.  But it doesn't matter, because we don't know their full situation, we don't know their whole heart, and it's not our place to judge.  The purpose of this blog is not to argue about who should or should not be allowed in this country or condemn the laws; it's simply to think more about treating people from other countries the way Jesus would.

So, how should we approach the issue of immigration as Jesus would?  First and foremost by showing love and compassion to all people.  Second, we should not judge them unfairly, jump to conclusions, or make false assumptions.  Third, get to know them for who they really are; discover their talents and abilities; focus on the whole person, not just one part; and see what we can do to help.  The next time you hear something in the news about immigration and you're not sure how to respond, just think, "What would Jesus do?"

An Immigrant's Journey, Part 2

 So, the last time I wrote anything on this blog was in March 2016.  Since then, I've had another baby (she's now 9 years old!), moved to Henderson, and written another book (all good reasons, but not excuses, of why I abandoned this blog).  

In my last entry, "An Immigrant's Journey," I expressed frustration with the system that makes it so difficult for certain groups of people to receive a visa to live legally in this country.  Now, nine years later, I feel more frustrated than ever!  I know two wonderful men in Mexico who applied for a visa to come to the United States; one for a three week trip visiting different congregations, and the other to attend a religious school where he could receive the formal training he never received in Mexico.  Both were denied.  

Since 2018, I have been studying up on the visa requirements for Mexico as I try to help Jose Luis's family come.

• You must be in good standing with the government (no past offenses or criminal activity).  
• You must submit evidence that you will return to the country at the appointed time. 
• You must submit evidence of savings accounts.
• You must agree for the government to check all of your social media accounts.

Seems like a lot, doesn't it?  Especially for someone who is only planning to visit the country for three weeks. The hardest for most to prove is the second one:  submit evidence that you will return to the country at the appointed time.  You may be thinking, but if they have a family in Mexico, of course they're going to go back to their family!  But in the eyes of the government, it has nothing to do with family.  It means you must own property or be associated with a business. Do you have any idea how difficult it is to own property or be the owner of a business in Mexico?  Much less have money in savings!  Again, this seems like a "no way to win" scenario.  People want to come to the United States because they can't find good jobs in their country.  They can't get a visa because they don't have enough money for it (if they did, they wouldn't need to come in the first place!) So they cross our border thinking that's the only way in.  And because that keeps happening, now the ones who are trying to do it the right way can't get in the right way because the government has made it almost impossible to be approved even when they follow all the steps.  It's a vicious cycle!  

Let me back up for a minute.  I told you I first started looking into tourist visas in 2018.  Lydia was almost two and hadn't met anyone from her Mexican family yet, so I desperately wanted them to come and visit us.  Before we could even start the application process for my brother-in-law and mother-in-law to come, they would need a passport.  Here we have the luxury of filling out an application for a passport online and filing it at our local post office in just a couple of days.  But in Mexico you must make an appointment at a passport office, which are only located in the major cities and only open a few hours each week.  And the only way to make an appointment is to call!  So after two years of calling and repeatedly getting a busy signal, my brother-in-law finally snagged an appointment in 2021 (it took even longer than usual because of the pandemic).  They took a couple of days off of work to travel eight hours to one of the most dangerous cities at the time in order to finally get their passports.  

Now we could officially start the application process!  The next step was to decide where to go for the visa interview.  The city of Matamoros was the furthest away from where they lived but had the shortest wait time of only two years compared to three, so we chose that location.  The application was complete and the interview was now scheduled for 2023.  But of course it couldn't be that easy; the trip to Matamoros was going to cost $800 round trip per person ($1600 total--more than what most people in Mexico make in three months or more), and my brother-in-law started to have doubts about spending so much money and making a long trip, only to find out they would not be approved.  So we had no choice but to cancel the appointment and schedule one for Mexico City for February 2026.  My heart broke as I realized we would have to wait another three years just to find out if they can come visit us or not.  (To clarify, Mexico City isn't close to where they live either; it's a ten hour bus ride, still traveling along a dangerous route, but nowhere near as far as the places with a shorter wait time.)

In the meantime, my brother-in-law has obtained a government job at a university and is hoping that will help his chances of getting the visa.  So, this process that began 9 years ago will finally be coming to an end in just 8 more months.  I hope and pray the long wait will conclude with a "yes" and not a "no."  I have sent letters to three different congressmen about this issue, all to no avail.  The same point I made nine years ago is the same point I made in those letters is the same point I'm making now: the way to slow down the influx of illegal immigrants to this country is NOT to spend billions of dollars on walls and detention centers.  A better solution is to work with countries like Mexico where the working conditions are dismal to allow more visitors legally; don't set limits on neighboring countries or the ones with the highest demand; make it more affordable to apply for a visa; open offices in more cities so that people don't have to travel so far and spend even more money; and be more realistic about the criteria for receiving a visa.  Lastly, people who live in countries like Venezuela and Haiti, where the government has no control, has all the control, or the people are starving so much that they fight each other for food, should be granted asylum!  Immigrants are often willing to do the difficult jobs that many Americans don't want.  So instead of condemning them for coming to this country for reasons none of us can ever fully understand, let's show them more respect and appreciation.