As a Latino, family heritage is important to me. I believe we can all learn from the journeys of our ancestors. For some, these may have involved crossing the border without papers, seeking freedom from persecution, or fleeing the violence of revolution. These struggles and sacrifices have made our country great.
By the way, I'm not talking about my family. I'm referring to the uniquely American story of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. I only wish the former Massachusetts governor's views on immigration were informed by the reality of his background, rather than the generic Republican Party rhetoric he's espousing more and more often.
Romney says undocumented immigrants should all go home, because they're breaking the law. But his family history encompasses the flouting of the laws of two countries. His great-grandfather Miles Park Romney fled Utah for Mexico in 1884 to avoid persecution for the Mormon practice of plural marriage. Miles promised the Mexican government that his large family -- he had five wives -- would live peacefully and in accordance with all local laws. Still, he continued to practice polygamy, which was illegal in Mexico, even after it was banned by the Mormon Church in 1892.
Mitt Romney has spoken out against "sanctuary cities," municipalities that protect the rights of the undocumented. He says they wrongfully harbor unauthorized immigrants. How ironic. His own family obtained sanctuary in Mexico when the U.S. government was imprisoning Mormons, stripping them of their rights, and even killing them because of their beliefs.
Romney also thinks the border should be secured, because we can't have people coming across without papers. Yet in 1912, when the chaos of the Mexican Revolution threatened the Mormon settlements, his family returned to El Norte with no apparent need for papers or legal authorization from Washington. Mitt might never have had the chance to become a successful American businessman, the governor of a key state, or the savior of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City were it not for our porous border with Mexico.
Under normal circumstances, the children of Americans who are born abroad are still considered citizens. But the Romneys' Mexican roots run deep. Three generations of the family lived there. Four of Mitt's great-grandparents died there. His father was born there. Mitt's father George, who served as the governor of Michigan, himself could have been a poster child for the DREAM Act. He was the son of a foreign-born immigrant who entered the United States without documentation with kids in tow.
So, if the nation were to deny the children of immigrants birthright citizenship, as some GOP legislators believe we should, could Mitt be deported?
That's why I find the story of the Romneys quite fascinating. Mitt's ancestors sought religious freedom and the chance of a better life. They took their future into their own hands. They did what they needed to do to survive -- just like millions of undocumented people continue to do today, including many from Mexico.
And while I don't condone polygamy, I do admire the Mormon pioneers who risked everything for what they believed in. If only Mitt had such strong principles. As the governor of Massachusetts, he was in favor of accessible healthcare for all. Now he soundly opposes the federal government's new health program. He was once pro-choice but now favors outlawing abortion. He takes a firm stance against employing undocumented immigrants, yet has been caught twice with workers without papers who were mowing his lawn and doing other work on his property. This kind of flip-flopping and fudging on the issues hardly shows a commitment to leadership.
During his last run for the Republican nomination, Mitt Romney told the Christian Science Monitor that he was proud of his Mormon faith. "These are my beliefs," he said. "They form who I am." Sadly, I have to wonder about that, for the Book of Mormon itself instructs compassion towards all immigrants. In 2 Nephi 1:6, the prophet Lehi speaks of the New World (America) and his message could not be clearer: "There shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord."
Cross-posted at Other Words.
Follow Raul A. Reyes on Twitter: www.twitter.com/RaulAReyes
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Ian Danley: We Are on God's Side
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 |
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| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Electoral Votes (270 to win) |
332 | 206 |
| Obama | Romney | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | 65,899,660 | 60,932,152 |
| Percent | 51.1% | 47.2% |
| Democrats* | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Current Senate | 53 | 47 |
| Seats gained or lost | +2 | -2 |
| New Total | 55 | 45 |
| Democrats | Republicans | |
|---|---|---|
| Seats won | 201 | 234 |
"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
Emma Lazarus, 1883
"His great-grandfather Miles Park Romney fled Utah for Mexico in 1884 to avoid persecution for the Mormon practice of plural marriage. Miles promised the Mexican government that his large family -- he had five wives -- would live peacefully and in accordance with all local laws. Still, he continued to practice polygamy, which was illegal in Mexico, even after it was banned by the Mormon Church in 1892."
The guy went there and it seem got permission to remain,.,,,doesn;t sound like anything illegal...
what president is going to take a Pro Illegal Immigrant stance?
Isnt this short for 'Mormons only?"
All Immigrants were fleeing something, but only recently have they been offered and granted such huge Government Benefits as opposed to just 'opportunity'.
It's time to stop Immigration from South of the Border and severely curtail Immigration from all other places. Immigration is an environmental issue and an economic issue for all Americans. Let's keep out jobs, stop shipping jobs overseas, and quit diluting our Government Benefit systems with all these people who never worked for them or earned them .. Social Security is one example, diluted by old folks from other nations, never worked a day in their lives here.
'tear down that wall mr. gorbachev' was code for open for business
But the top 5% don't really derive their $$ from Cheap Labor. If the 80's were so bad, the 90's thru 2007 must have been worse. More millionaires created during the Reagan Era than at any other time, a shrinking poor and middle class because people were moving UP not down. The stats bear this out.
You totally misunderstand 'tear down this wall' .. we were fighting Communism .. a dark shadow casting itself across the World, had nothing to do with Free Trade or NAFTA.
2. What about the female line? You didn't mention any of those ancestors so it's a wonder on whether or not they had citizenship. It's interesting that you ignored that.
3. You also brushed over WHY Mormons left Mexico. It was because they were being attacked by Mexicans upset that they had lost land to the U.S.
Does that mean I should somehow feel that Lebanese are inherintly more worthy then other nationailities to come here? That I should lobby for people from my heritage to receive special treatment? That they should be exempt from the laws that govern all others?
If this is Rauls' reasoning and logic, I and any sane person would/should object loudly!