It Bothers Me

            Alabama’s Immigration law has been much in the national news lately.  Some provisions of it have been stayed by the courts.  Whether you favor the law or oppose it, there are some things that bother me as a Christian and should bother you.  For example, the law would criminalize people who offer a ride or other humanitarian aid to an illegal alien, making “good Samaritans” criminals.

            But the thing which bothers me the most is the effect the law will have on the status of families. Some small children were brought into the country illegally by their parents. English is their primary language, they have progressed through our school systems, and they are qualified for employment.  Many of these have no memory of the land of their origin.  They are “Americans” and proud to be American.  If these young people are deported, they will be sent to a country they do not know and a culture with which they are not familiar. In essence, these young people will suffer as much as one of our own children would suffer if they were snatched away and deported to a foreign land.

            Another case in the news this week concerned an immigrant mother who is now a citizen and her two children, both born in the U.S. and U.S. citizens.  But her husband is an illegal alien.  If he is deported, she has great concern for how she will be able to provide for herself and her children, as well as the trauma of being separated from her husband.

            I haven’t read through the whole law, but I don’t recall any provision to fast track such young people or family members into citizenship.  But that would be the only fair way to handle the situation

            Whether you support the law or do not support the law, please pray for those who lives will be disrupted.  And pray for

the politicians and the judiciary to ease the transitions. 

Grace and peace.