It is the news. It is making the rounds on radio
talk shows and the television news networks. The “IT,” of course, is the
legislation signed into law last Friday by the governor of Arizona, Jan
Brewer. This is not the place to rehearse its contents;
others—newspapers, magazines, internet resources—have done that. But it
is safe to say that it is the strictest (some say draconian) legislation
directed at undocumented immigrants in the country to date.
Those of us who are involved in some fashion in the push toward
comprehensive immigration reform are hearing accounts of fear and
intimidation coming out of that state. Hispanics are already being
stopped and asked for identity papers; families are packing up and
leaving their homes; congregations have already lost members and leaders
who are fleeing Arizona; ministries that work within Hispanic
neighborhoods are trying to cope and pastor the many who are worried
about driving to work, school or church… the stories are many and will
increase over he next few weeks.
There are many ways to approach this law and criticize it for its
potential violation of human dignity, racial profiling,
constitutionality and the like. I would like to return to something I've said in the past:
“Laws reflect the values of a nation. The laws of Israel were
to demonstrate compassion to those in need... This ultimately was
because God himself loves these people (Deut. 10:17-19). In other words,
the Old Testament Law was to reflect the very heart of God and his
values. Here then is a test for any nation: How do the laws treat the
vulnerable in its midst? Is the engagement with those from the
outside for exploitation and pushing them to the margins as inferior
persons? Or, do the laws extend a hand in charity and justice to those
who struggle?”
What does the Arizona legislation say about us as a nation? Where is
our heart? What do we value, and what measures are we willing to put
into law to protect what we value? God loves the vulnerable; is this
nation instead singling out the vulnerable to exclude them and drive
them away or further into the shadows?
The Arizona legislation has reduced the complexities of immigration to the issue of national
security and criminality. Now the discussion
there is framed around these two topics, and other key matters such as
human dignity and the sacredness of the family are pushed to the side.
Is national security an item to be handled? Of course it is (drug
trafficking, violence, etc.); but national security cannot dominate the
debate. Of the hundreds of thousands in Arizona who are undocumented,
how many are involved in these kinds of activities? How do the new laws
deal with education, health, and work issues? This kind of reductionism
is shortsighted and polarizing; it is counterproductive and harmful to the immigrant and to the national ethos alike.
This post and others by Danny Carroll can be found at Denver Seminary's website.