Adjectives like “controversial,” “divisive,” “radical,” and “explosive” usually prefix the phrase “immigration policy.” Might I suggest otherwise? Our national conversation about this important and sensitive issue could actually be a boost to the unity and cooperation we urgently need.
For one, this should hardly be a partisan debate, since neither party has a particularly sterling record on immigration. We haven’t had reform in our laws in 40 years. Defenders of the current administration remind us that deportations under Presidents Obama and Biden were way higher than now. Neither party has led well on an issue that could and should enjoy bipartisan support, as previous reform crafted, thanks to the cooperation of Republican President Ronald Reagan and Democrat Sen. Ted Kennedy, did in the 1980s.
Two, everybody admits our policy is broken and needs repair. Our last election shows this is the clear desire of the majority of people in this country. While how we fix it can cause tension, all agree we must come together to reform it.
Three, all believe we need increased border security. Pope Francis reminded us before he died that a country has not only a right but a duty to have secure vigilance over its boundaries. This, too, was a winning issue last November.
Four, in our “one nation under God,” we all celebrate that, unless we trace our roots back to Native Americans, we are all kids and grandkids of immigrants! This is a source of festivals, pride, parades, and unity for us!
Five, with a few notorious exceptions, our immigrants are patriots. On Sunday afternoons in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, we often welcome ethnic groups who are celebrating a feast or devotion important to the land of their birth or that of their forebearers. At the end of Mass, yes, they will sing the national anthem of their country of origin, but then bellow out “The Star Spangled Banner.” They may carry the flag of their former homeland, but the “Stars and Stripes” are always held higher! Advocacy for the immigrant is patriotic, as our newcomers become devoted patriotic citizens.
Six, for a nation that looks to the Bible for direction and encouragement, the “Good Book” upon which all our political leaders place their hand as they assume office, the compass is clear: treat the immigrant with dignity and respect! Welcome the refugee! “Our forefathers were once refugees in the desert,” thundered Moses; “When I was a stranger did you welcome me?” asks Jesus. Bible readers are advocates for the immigrant, and this nation which dares claim “In God we trust,” must be united in seeking justice for them.
Seven, a unity in seeking a sound, fair, and benevolent immigration reform is prompted by economic interest as well. We are all one in desiring our nation to prosper. Earlier this week I was on a conference call with leaders from labor and business, union and corporate executives both. They spoke as one, urging a policy which helps keep law abiding immigrants and their families here. Simply put, they observed, they’re an integral part of our nation’s economy! They are industrious, eager for work, pay taxes, and, well, what would we do without them?
Now even supporters of wide deportation are moderating their earlier enthusiasm, as they urge consideration of workers in hotels, restaurants, and agriculture. Why not even more latitude? As the reelection platform for President Lincoln stated in 1864, “We urge a liberal and just policy of immigration…which has added so much to the wealth, development of resources, and increase of power to the nation.”
Eight, have you noticed, our immigrant couples have babies? Thoughtful demographers have long worried about a “population winter” here in the United States, with death rates higher than birth rates! Not good for our future as a country. The immigrants help fix that.
Thanks for hearing me out! I cringe when I hear extremists on either side of an extraordinarily sensitive issue. We can’t let them dominate and fracture us.
Because this is a cause, not for division, but for unity; an issue not “red” or “blue,” but “red, white, and blue.” Oneness there is:
Protect our borders! For sure!
Repair a broken policy? You bet!
Hunt down and send cut-throats and dangerous criminals back? Yes!
But change our long and cherished tradition of safely welcoming immigrants and refugees? No!
Indiscriminate mass deportation of our law abiding, industrious, dutiful neighbors only recently arrived? Please, no!
Dolan is archbishop of the Archdiocese of New York.
