My Thoughts on Immigration
I have waited a while to express my thoughts on immigration issues. For a while, I don't think I really had a strong opinion either way. Well, maybe I did, but I just kept going back and forth. I have since talked to a few people whose opinions are totally on the opposite ends of the spectrum. I respect the people I have spoken with a great deal. I have taken the thoughts that they have given me and weighed them against each other to form my opinion.
Let me start by saying that anything done illegally is wrong. It absolutely cannot be justified based on passion and conviction unless the action separates me from God and His individual will for my individual life. Having said that, we as believers must find a middle ground on this issue without thumbing our noses at the government which God has established and, up to this point, has blessed.
Does our nation do things that occasionally seem contrary to God's teachings? Absolutely! Please remember that no decision or law passed has mandatorily set us in a position that we are separate from God. We are still obligated by biblical mandate to submit to the laws of the land.
So how do we love our "international" neighbors, so to speak? Let me say what the media is scared to say for the sake of political correctness. The problem here is not immigrants from Canada or Europe. The problem is immigrants from Mexico and other surrounding Hispanic nations.
On the issue of should they or shouldn't they be here, I feel that those that have done the leg work to get their work visa or green card have every right to be here. After all, the United States is considered a boiling pot of nations. I strongly feel that the individuals that have come here illegally have absolutely NO right being here and should be deported as soon as they are discovered.
Now there are a few cases that need to be addressed individually such as the young girl that Sarah posted about on April 26, 2006, which she pulled from
The Christian Face of Immigration by David Batstone.
On the issue of should they or shouldn't they receive financial and/or Christmas assistance if they are illegal, I have a very strong opinion. Be it far from me to make a determination for stand alone, self-sufficient organizations or churches regarding their mission. Any governmental monies given to organizations or churches should not be used for any type of assistance for illegels. Those reserved funds are given with a purpose and usually require strict book-keeping and specific criteria to be spent. Governmental monies/grants should not be used as assistance to encourage illegal activity.
I feel that, for those immigrants who come to our nation in the correct fashion, governmental funding should be granted for ESL (English as a Second Language) classes to those who need it at no charge. We should not have a language barrier in this country. English speaking individuals, the majority, should not be expected to learn an immigrated language.
These are my thoughts. Take them are leave them. I'll survive.
Wayne
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12:57 PM
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