Amnesty for Immigrants is a Good Thing

Amnesty as Beautiful and Moral

Immigrants, even undocumented ones, are an economic asset, according to just about every government study and economist. Even if they are legalized and start using more of the services they now pay for in taxes, they remain an economic asset. Immigrants watch our children, pick our lettuce, care for our grandmothers, doctor the rural poor, write computer code, mow our lawns, and wash our restaurant dishes - at a lower than a just wage. They are an obvious personal asset to those who need personal services, like home health care or house cleaning. They deserve better wages for this hard work.

They are also human beings and human assets in the form of social and not just economic capital. They are people. They are people who do not deserve hate but love, not hostility but hospitality, not law enforcement but law change and then law relief.

Why, then, with both moral and economic assets so clear, has amnesty become a "bad" word? Why does it stand in the way of the moral courage of politicians? Who let the dogs out? How dare amnesty be a bad word? In what world or what religion is amnesty something we say with scorn or derision?

Amnesty is a big word for forgiveness. From a religious point of view, Amnesty is not something we "deserve" so much as something we treasure.

There are at least 12 million human beings already here, active as human and economic assets to this nation. Please call them human beings or immigrants, not "illegals!" The President's political courage joins the common sense of the two major American unions in supporting, if not amnesty, at least comprehensive immigration reform to provide a legal path to citizenship. I want to say either alleluia or mazel tov and then thank God. But a legal path to citizenship will not necessarily help those already here. Amnesty will help them. It should be a part of any bill.

Amnesty is a morally beautiful thing. If you have ever been forgiven, you understand. If you've ever yearned for forgiveness and not received it, you also understand. You know what a heavy psychological and moral burden resentment is. It hurts to live in the land of the unforgiving or the unforgiven. Those are both mean places. Amnesty is the solution. We might even argue that those who get the forgiveness they deserve differ mightily from those who get the forgiveness they don't deserve. The latter melts in a spiritual heap of gladness and renewal; the former is self-righteously driven and likely to go and sin some more. Forgiveness is barely forgiveness if we think we have a right to it. Forgiveness has a surplus to it; it buys more than it pays for.

Why would immigrants who broke laws neither they nor most Americans understand be such superior sinners that they would not receive forgiveness or an amnesty? And what about their children? Separating parents from children is cruel. Most Americans would cry more over a stray kitten than a stray child. There are thousands of stray children right now because of our impractical, expensive, stupid and immoral deportation policies.

Immigrants make economic contributions that are sizeable. Policing them costs a lot of money. Fact: Deporting immigrants costs money. Fact: When they work and pay taxes, they add money. Which policy is more recession busting?

I just visited an undocumented man with AIDS in a NYC hospital. There was a guard posted outside his door. Why? Another woman supports four children while living with another woman with four children; both of their husbands were deported. For a living, they braid hair and sell scarves. Why were their hard working husbands deported? What will happen to the children?

Well-funded, racist, xenophobic, unpatriotic -- and well-funded -- political operatives have distorted the word Amnesty. I pray for their forgiveness - and their repentance.

We often do the right thing for the wrong reason. The right thing is Amnesty. It is also Comprehensive Immigration Reform. It is surely a legal path to citizenship. We morally do these things because they are the right thing to do. It is a wonderful side effect that we also have economic benefits.

The Rev. Dr Donna Schaper is the Senior Minster of Judson Memorial Church and author of Grassroots Gardening: Rituals to Sustain Activism from Nation books.

Comments

[Solaris123]

If Amnesty is passed today, within a year demands will begin for the next Amnesty.

[SonnyBono]

The last time we has amnesty, we thought there would be 2-3 million - we got 4 Million and now we have at least 12 million (probably closer to 20 million) illegals. They will continue to come as long as we allow employers to pay substandard wages without penalty and as long as we generate amnesty every few years.

[Solaris123]

"There are at least 12 million human beings already here, active as human and economic assets to this nation."

True. The debate is whether liabilities and serious problems illegal immigrant bring outweigh the benefits.
No one knows the clear answer about that.
Some things to consider:
1.A country has the right to control its borders.
2.Vast majority of illegal immigrants are economic immigrants, not political refugees.
3.Most have a large number of children--a serious burden on educational, environmental, social support and medical system.
4.Most don't buy health insurance-- a serious burden on medical system.
5. Many send money they've earned back to the home countries--loss of American wealth.
6. U.S. is moving toward post-industrial economic models. We need more educated info workers, not uneducated blue-collar workers.

[greyhound2]

An economic asset? Wrong. Studies show a net drain on welfare systems, education and health care for the US. Check out Caifornia, which is a main target for illegals and is why they are so far in debt.

[nee]

The "right thing" is not amnesty. The "right thing" to do is for ALL ILLEGAL ALIENS to return to their own countries and those who employ ILLEGALS to be heavily fined. The "right thing" is to follow immigration law. The "right thing" to do is for us to use our tax dollars on our own citizens. The "right thing" to do is for all countries who send us their poor to take care of their own. The "right thing" to do is for people to come to our country or any other country LEGALLY.

[nee]

"Why would immigrants who broke laws neither they nor most Americans understand be such superior sinners that they would not receive forgiveness or an amnesty? And what about their children? Separating parents from children is cruel. Most Americans would cry more over a stray kitten than a stray child. There are thousands of stray children right now because of our impractical, expensive, stupid and immoral deportation policies."


So now you are saying that ILLEGAL ALIENS are too stupid to understand what a border is? Most tax payers are sick of spending BILLIONS (in CA alone) to an education and provide health care to people who don't belong here. We need to heavily fine and jail those who employ ILLEGALS. Once the slave wages dry up the ILLEGALS will self-deport. As for the children of ILLEGALS their parents should have thought about them before they decided to engage in ILLEGAL behavior. They, like millions of other children who have neglectful parents, must endure the hardships their parents have put upon them.

[wndrwrthg]

Criminal aliens need to leave and apply as the law allows. Shall we give amnesty to all other criminals. Drug dealers are an economic asset.

[nee]

These human beings (ILLEGAL ALIENS) need to take their human assests back to their own countries and make them better places.

[Paul]

The reason we have the situation we have now is that corporations benefit from an exploitable class of labor that can be paid sub-standard wages.

We have restrictions on imigration - but no enforcement - so that this pool of exploitable labor will always be available.

Do "illegal immigrants" deserve better - yes. Are they good people - mostly.

But we cannot allow an unlimited number of people to enter this country illegally to depress wages. That is the reason schools, emergency rooms and houses are overcrowded. Corporations get the benefit while the rest of us get stuck with the costs.


Close the border - stop the incoming flow. Jail the CEOs of companies who hire illegals. The rest will sort itself out.