Everyone take a second and think about the following virtues: Justice and Mercy. Seriously, think about it for just a second and try to decide which one is better. If you chose justice, do you think that it is wrong to be merciful? Or do you only value justice over mercy? And if you chose mercy, do you think that it is wrong to be just? Or do you merely value mercy more that justice? These are important questions because the answers can have a profound effect on how you view others and how you solve relational problems.
I think much of this race issue could be solved if people understood the other sides point of view a little better. I imagine that most of the anti-immigrant camp, at least in this circumstance, is valuing justice over mercy. It does makes sense, America is a nation of laws that need to be followed. If a country can't enforce it's laws then it can't keep it's citizens safe. Keeping citizens safe is a primary goal of a well functioning government. The conclusion for people that value justice over mercy is that the lawbreakers need to be brought to justice. The obvious solution is to reverse the crime - people came in illegally, send them back. It's as simple as that. I'm not making an argument right now, I just want pro-immigrant people to really understand this reasoning because in most circumstances it is very sound reasoning. Rules are a fundamental part of white American culture. As a white American I can attest to that. I started learning to strictly follow rules before I entered kindergarten and when I didn't follow the rules I got swatted with what my parents called a switch. It was a long thin stick like plant that used to grow next to the nectarine trees in my backyard. This is the culture that a lot of these people grew up in so be reasonable with them and take the high road if you think they are overbearing. The issue is becoming so polarizing that the pro-immigrant side can't see the anti-immigrant side for anything other than a bunch of hate mongers. This isn't true though, following/enforcing rules is just the culture that they grew up in. It is very important to them, so please do not return perceived hate with more hate. Understand that they are only acting according to their culture and be the first to bury the hatchet and show them kindness.
Now to the anti-immigrant group. If you are valuing justice over mercy in regards to this issue, what was your answer to the question "Is it wrong to be merciful or do you only value justice over mercy?" It's hard for me to imagine people saying that it is wrong to be merciful so I'm going to go ahead with the presumption that most of you value justice over mercy but that it's not wrong to be merciful. If I am mistaken here I'd love to have it explained to me how it can be wrong to be merciful and I mean wrong in a moral sense, not just the wrong choice. So, if I am correct so far and many of you do not believe that it is wrong to be merciful, why do I see so much anger? A large part of the pro-immigrant side just wants to be shown/show mercy to people who were destitute and traveled across a desert in search of a better life. Again, I'm not trying to make an argument for undocumented immigration, I just want white America to understand where these people came from and to think about that before getting so angry. Finding peace and getting along with people is something I value and believe is beneficial to everyone. Many of the undocumented immigrants came from conditions that we have never even come close to experiencing. They don't just go to bed a little hungrier than we do but it's not that big a deal. I know people that have been locked in a room for days and only given a coffee can to defecate in. This persons mother fled from her husband into the U.S. and became a prostitute in order to escape the horrors from where she came. Again, I'm not getting emotional and trying to justify anything but there is a misconception among the anti-immigrant group that these people are coming over here to hurt us and take our jobs but that's not the case most of the time. It's easy to be mad at someone who does that. It's harder to be mad at someone who is escaping conditions that we all know we'd do anything to escape as well. So my message to the anti-immigrant camp is to consider these things before you respond with anger. That only makes the problem worse. That's what makes the Latino at a party I went to last Saturday look at me with skepticism in his eyes. Try to understand the helplessness of the situation that they are in and at the very least don't let anger be an ingredient in the solutions you come up with.
Now, I've talked a lot about justice and mercy so far. Both of these are good ideals. I've never heard anyone say justice is bad or mercy is bad. They are both good but they are opposite, there needs to be a balance of justice and mercy. To much justice and you end up with a dictatorship. Too much mercy and you end up with anarchy. We need to ask ourselves where we are now and what is a possible solution? But we need to focus on a solution instead of a fight. The anti-immigrants want to close the border, deport all the undocumented immigrants and some of them want to change the 14th amendment so that children of undocumented immigrants wouldn't receive citizenship. I see a few problems with this. First is deporting so many people would cost a ridiculous amount of money and resources and in all likelihood wouldn't be feasible. Should we really attempt something that has next to no chance of success and is more likely to cause bigger more violent problems? I think a reasonable person would find a different solution. About the 14th amendment being repealed so that children of undocumented immigrants wouldn't receive citizenship, have you considered the long term affects of something like this? Think about how bad conditions in America could get 2 or 3 generations from now if we had millions of illegal people who were not immigrants, they were just illegal because 60 years ago their ancestors came here uninvited. They'd be a permanent lower class and a cancer to society because they would have no opportunity. I really don't think that's a reasonable solution either. The pro-immigrant solution might be to offer amnesty and allow undocumented immigrants a chance to work and better their position in the world.
So what kind of a solution is possible for an issue this messy and complicated? Should it be a solution of Justice? Because the only way I can think of to hand down justice to a group of 12 million people is to do it by force. Is it really worth that? Is crossing the border really a crime that warrants such a drastic solution? Or should it be a solution of mercy? If it's not morally wrong would it really make anyones life worse to show mercy to a group of people that are mostly poor? Let's not consider a solution that is the worst case for the opposition no matter which side you are on. Lets consider a solution that is best for everyone.
Micah 6:8 (New International Version)
8 He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the LORD require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
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