Crossing The (Border) Line
An Unpopular Opinion About Immigration
An Unpopular opinion about immigration
In 2011 Jose Antonio Vargas wrote an essay for the New York Times confessing to be an illegal immigrant. It all started when his mother put him on a plane departing the Philippines for America because she wanted a better life for him. He lived with his grandparents in California and had a low-key childhood, but it all unraveled when he tried to get a driver’s license. His grandfather confessed that his citizenship papers were fake. He wasn’t in America legally like he had thought. For the next decade and a half, he kept up the lie his grandfather started, evading detection through a web of deceit. He became an outstanding member of society, eventually even becoming a Pulitzer-winning journalist. He worked hard, really hard, but it had all come at a cost.
“The more I achieved, the more scared and depressed I became. I was proud of my work, but there was always a cloud hanging over it, over me… I’m done running. I’m exhausted. I don’t want that life anymore. So, I’ve decided to come forward, own up to what I’ve done, and tell my story to the best of my recollection.”
From Vargas’ experience, sounds like being an illegal immigrant can be exhausting and scary. Granted this is just one story out of millions of experiences, but it’s doubtful his was the only case like this. There are believed to be roughly 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States. It’s hard to find an exact number because there’s not exactly a list out there.
So, are the immigration laws of the United States unfair or unjust? Some think so, but that is not the issue at hand. All developed countries in the world have immigration laws, some more strict than the USA’s, and some less strict. Obtaining legal American citizenship is limited to just three routes: employment, family reunification, or humanitarian protection, and each pathway is highly regulated with strict numerical caps and eligibility requirements. But if something is hard that doesn’t mean you can circumvent it. No matter what. It’s one thing if you’re a kid and honestly didn’t know, but what happens when you grow up and discover the truth?
“The more I achieved, the more scared and depressed I became. I was proud of my work, but there was always a cloud hanging over it, over me…”
Compassion is required here. Christians are called to be merciful toward immigrants (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:33–34; Matthew 25:35). But how do we honor Scripture, exercise compassion, and engage society without reducing complex human lives to soundbites and what’s convenient? At the very least we need to turn off the easy narratives, the one-liners, and the headlines that let you simply nod and move on. And there have been a lot of intense headlines: ICE raids in metropolitan areas, the Supreme Court weighing in on birthright citizenship, the border wall with Mexico, the surge of illegal Mediterranean crossings to European countries, and more.
The bottom line is that those seeking to emigrate to another country should always obey the immigration laws of that country. While this may cause delays and frustrations, it is better than acting illegally. A frustrating law is still a law, and violating one causes harm to you, your family, and the community around you. And let’s be real here, a good life is never one we force to happen. Anyone who breaks the law believing they have a good reason is setting themselves up to lose, not to move forward.