G92, Immigration Reform, and a Letter from a Birmingham Jail
Last week was the last full week of Black History Month. I ended the month pressing for Immigration Reform in the birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement.
Author Archive for: Admin
Entries by Admin
From Principle to Policy: Navigating the Moral Terrain of Immigration Reform
If there is one debate in American politics where an “alternative political conversation” is most needed, it is the debate over immigration reform. Perhaps because we are a nation of immigrants, perhaps because the debate connects with so many other sensitive policy issues, or perhaps because of deeply-felt but poorly-articulated fears concerning those who are different, the rhetoric that opponents level at each other—-and at immigrants themselves-—has been the opposite of what anyone would call Christian. Indeed, our lack of progress on the issue can be explained to a great extent by the way we talk about it.
Monkeying Around in the Uberstau
The U.S. immigration system is an überstau. A complex, crowded, and expensive bureaucracy hinders the flow of immigrants into our country. This leads frustrated travelers to break the rules in order to reach their desired destination. Others respond to this with indignation; why should cheaters reap the benefits of incivility while rule followers are punished? America needs and wants an effective immigration system that meets the demands of firms for both high and low-skilled workers and provides opportunities for new citizens and temporary guests to experience personal prosperity while contributing to the common good. The best approach to achieving this end is market-based reforms that validate the humanity of all involved.
Loving the Undocumented Immigrant
“When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him. The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:33-34
What is a thoughtful, Christian approach to the immigration issue? The above text from Leviticus is a starting point, but it is hardly the final word. It is too simple to say that the instructions laid down by God thousands of years ago for the ancient Israelites is what should determine American public policy towards immigration in the 21st century. Yet it is a starting point, since it highlights the fact that immigrants—whether they came here legally or illegally—have a great human worth that has been given them by God as his image bearers, a human worth we and our policies ought to acknowledge and respect.
What is a thoughtful, Christian approach to the immigration issue? The above text from Leviticus is a starting point, but it is hardly the final word. It is too simple to say that the instructions laid down by God thousands of years ago for the ancient Israelites is what should determine American public policy towards immigration in the 21st century. Yet it is a starting point, since it highlights the fact that immigrants—whether they came here legally or illegally—have a great human worth that has been given them by God as his image bearers, a human worth we and our policies ought to acknowledge and respect.
Immigration and the Church as an Alternative Polis
Harold Heie has named this series of discussions as “alternative political conversations.” Thinking about immigration this time around reminded me of a meaning of that phrase that perhaps Dr. Heie was not thinking of: the church as an “alternative polis” to such polities as nation-states. This theme, so important in recent Christian ethics, resonates perhaps nowhere more profoundly than with regard to this issue of (illegal) immigration.
Principles and Practice: Loving our Immigrant Neighbors
The immigration issue is quite controversial and the rhetoric is often polarizing. Even in this highly-charged political climate, there is widespread agreement that the current immigration system desperately needs repair. In this essay, I suggest that we evaluate proposals for immigration reform by asking to what extent different options are compatible with core principles, and I offer some practical suggestions for how we can reach out to our immigrant neighbors right now.
Topic #2: Immigration
Please consider the following potential leading questions #1: What is your perception of the adequacy, or inadequacy, of current federal immigration law? #2: Within the context of current federal immigration law, how can citizens and various non-governmental organizations support and provide assistance to the immigrant community? #3: Given the tension that can […]
Justice, Deficits, and Taxes
Can there be a coherent Christian perspective on the massive, interrelated issues of US deficit reduction and tax reform?
How we Reduce the Deficit is a Moral Issue
“You don’t know what you have here in America, you know?” said the cabby who drove me home from the airport. When his father died in Ethiopia, he had to drop out of his American university where he was studying computer engineering to start driving cabs to support his family back in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has no social safety net.
Moral Principles and Moral Courage
As I have followed the national budget debate over the past twelve months or so, I have been struck by the ways that the arguments are framed morally. Today, it has become commonplace to declare that the budget is a “moral” document, that as a statement of the nation’s economic priorities, it makes decisions that are moral by their very nature, both in themselves and in their consequences.
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