Love vs Sheriff Arpaio's Tent City

Somewhere in this country, there is a camp where we keep people locked up in tents. Alleviated only by fans, these prisoners remain in canvas directly under the beating Sun. In the summer, this tent city suffers from 110 degree weather. Not far from Sheriff Arpaio's tent city in Arizona, animals are in an air conditioned shelter. Across the street, I saw a large truck with a peevish quote, "I want what is right... not what is left" falsely signed, 'God.'

I think this quote is a good indication of what is wrong with social conservatism in this country when it draws upon imagined theological values. There's a thought that God stands on the side of the Right, and rejects the Left. God is not political. God is not running for office. Politics are humanity's attempt to wrestle with earthly power. God does not need to wrestle with earthly power. God calls us to stand on the side of Love. In the Christian tradition, Jesus called us, and continues calling us, to stand 'with the least of these.'

Locking human beings in oppressive heat, whose only crime was seeking a better life for their children, is as far from standing with 'the least of these' than I can imagine. It is a perversion to call this right, or just, or humane. Policies like Arizona's SB1070, that grant local police forces the ability to pretend they are federal immigration agents, or the Federal 'Secure Communities' Program of max detention and deportation, harm the fabric of the American Dream. They say that the US is not big enough to dream any longer.

My great-grandparents came to the US when there was no 'documentation' necessary to make them legal. In that age, the US believed that anyone who was willing to work hard to make a better life for their children was welcome. Now we've shifted to a belief that our own economic failures are because of strangers. "They're stealing our jobs." It's factually inaccurate, it's dismissive of "their" humanity, and it's a too easy way to wash our hands of our own responsibility in the financial welfare of our nation.

Economics aside, the US can not support the inhumane treatment of fellow people on our own soil. Even if your politics tell you that immigration reform means "less immigrants" I urge you to take a hard look at the atrocities being committed in Arizona. Maybe our government will decide to continue to maintain harsh restrictions on immigration, but if it does so, it must come up with ways to enforce those laws in a manner that is in accordance with our conscience and values.

On Saturday evening, I joined with thousands holding witness at the 'Tent City' in Arizona as part of the Standing on the Side of Love faith movement. This evening of candlelit vigil, song, and spoken testimonials sought to bring attention to this human atrocity. We also hoped to sing loud enough that the victims held in the tents knew they were not alone; that part of America honored their dignity. We heard the names of 122 detainees who have died in US detention centers this past year - none of whom have ever gone to trial for a crime.

We heard speakers from the Unitarian Universalist Association, UU Service Committee, Rev. Geoffrey Black - President of the United Church of Christ, and our partner groups Puente and NDLON (National Day Laborers Organizing Network.) Pastor Warren Stewart of First Institutional Baptist Church in Phoenix (and chair of the Board of the National Immigration Forum) led us in a chant, "Tear down this tent city!" Local activist Dulce Juarez (of Puente) passionately witnessed, "Tonight I stand for love, and love stands for me."

This is not a liberal issue. This is a human issue. I personally have faith in the soul of our country. I believe that we are still big enough to dream. I believe we are still human enough to accept difference; to welcome the stranger; to introduce our children to the beauty of others. But even if you don't, these prison camps are not the American way. You can stand for restricting immigration and still oppose the brutal treatment of families. In the Christian faith, God commands it of us.

 

Follow Rev. G. Jude Geiger on Twitter: www.twitter.com/revjudegeiger

Comments

[Lou Weisenbacher III]

12:49 AM on 07/18/2012

The facts are there are more illegal aliens on welfare and food stamps then working .We are sick of paying for peoplmerican childrene who do not belong here .Get out of my country .

[lucyhirrtum]

09:37 PM on 06/26/2012

You are glorifying the past in believing that anyone willing to work hard was welcome in the US. The Naturalization Act of 1790 limited naturalized citizenship to "free whites". Under provisions of the 1924 Immigration Act, it became illegal for people ineligible for citizenship (i.e., those of Asian descent) to immigrate at all the the U.S. It wasn't until 1954 that Asian immigrants could become naturalized citizens.

It's always been difficult for Americans to live up to our ideals.

[alaschu]

06:09 PM on 07/05/2012

Reality rarely lives up to the ideal, however the ideal was that those willing to work hard were welcome. What ideal are we looking to in this current climate?

[Salvator mundi salva nos]

01:47 AM on 07/18/2012

Money, Money Money and Power,"neglecting Truth, humanity,compassion" to reach the money and the power.

[levafrei]

01:29 PM on 06/26/2012

UU's recognize the common threads in the justice struggles of marginalized communities are living out our faith in a better world. To do so with hope, and with conviction that our collective love is far more powerful than fear—indeed, more powerful than anything else in the world, is a testament to importance of our religion in a broken world.

Turning what previously were defined as civil offenses into criminal offenses serves to further silence and oppress some of the country's most vulnerable residents, and solidify the existence of an underclass of undocumented persons for whom human rights and basic dignity are too often denied.
The hysteria over "securing the borders" is largely ineffective, demands huge amounts of resources, and demonizes people of color while diverting attention and money from the systemic issues that are much more serious threats to our national security and overall societal well-being.

[CarolynNewYork]

01:18 PM on 06/26/2012

Immigrants perform some of the hardest, most dangerous jobs in our economy – for the least amount of pay. But they are routinely cheated out of their wages and denied basic protections in the workplace. In their communities, they are subjected to racial profiling and harassment by law enforcement – and frequently forced to prove themselves innocent of immigration violations, regardless of their legal status. And they are, increasingly, targeted for violent hate crimes.

Politicians and media figures have only encouraged this environment by spreading false propaganda that scapegoats immigrants for our nation’s problems and foments resentment and hate against them. This discrimination against immigrants – primarily those from Latin America – constitutes a civil rights crisis.

It's great to hear a UU minister focusing attention on this issue.

[lucyhirrtum]

12:09 PM on 06/26/2012

This article really makes clear how important it is for people of faith to follow the lead of the Unitarian Universalists and United Church of Christ to truly stand on the side of love: http://www.standingonthesideoflove.org/

Caring for those who are vulnerable is a message that resonates not only with Christians but with Muslims and Jews based on teachings of the Koran and the Torah.

[oldpreacherman]

12:21 AM on 06/26/2012

Your article is humorous and misleading. Guess you are not a separation of Church and State type.
Or are you? Your protest may be a little late since tent city has been there since 1993 and 500,000 short-term inmates have been through tent city. The way I figure it, anyone dumb enough to stand outside in 110 degrees and beat drums and then when the sun goes down hold candles in 95 degrees, is dumb enough to think it will make a difference after nineteen years.

[lucyhirrtum]

12:15 PM on 06/26/2012

The separation of church and state refers to keeping the government's hands off religion: i.e., not no state sponsored religion or promotion of one specific religion. Part of the mission of churches has typically been to instill mortality. Taking a stand based on morals is to be applauded.

Certainly the Supreme Court does take into account society's evolving views, so actions like these can and do make a difference.

[-Naked Censorship-]

08:26 AM on 06/27/2012

No. You are incorrect the 1st amendment prohibits the government from "ESTABLISHING " a state religion. As is now commont in the middle east with Islam.

[CarolynNewYork]

01:21 PM on 06/26/2012

This is important for religious people who take justice and concern for the most disadvantaged among us seriously. Immigrants' rights can't be separated from the broader struggle for social justice by people of color and poor people. There is far more that unites than divides the oppressed people in this country, and recognizing this shared fate and coming together to build multi-racial and multi-ethnic alliances is the quickest and most sustainable way for us to achieve broader social, racial, and economic justice.

Immigrants serve as a "miner's canary" for our society, because the injustice they experiences an early warning sign of much larger injustices that threaten all of us. If we pay attention, immigrants' struggles for a better quality of life can foretell the continued existence of racial, social, and economic problems that threaten the entire country's well-being.

[oldpreacherman]

03:24 PM on 06/26/2012

Caro. Thank you for your thoughful post. Please take the time to consider this analysis of social justice.
http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/2009/jan09/psrjan09.html

[TASK 541]

09:46 PM on 06/25/2012

The difference between immigration now, and a hundred years ago is that this country offers "benefits" (housing, Social Security, schooling, health care, food stamps, etc.) that we, as legal citizens pay for and expect others to do the same. Imagine if you will, paying for your daughter's wedding and having a bunch of uninvited people show up looking to party. What would be your reaction? That's how most Americans, who pay their taxes and are law abiding, feel when others take advantage of a system that we fund. Just ask the states of California, New Mexico, Texas, to name a few, how they feel about being bankrupted by illegal aliens' use of their "free" services.

[levafrei]

12:01 PM on 06/26/2012

Actually undocumented workers often take low paying jobs (agricultural, childcare, gardening, day laborers, washing dishes in restaurants, etc.) that helps support the so called "legal" American middle class's lifestyle.

Immigrants also pay more in taxes than we receive in benefits.

[TASK 541]

04:58 PM on 06/26/2012

They take these jobs because they are unskilled and uneducated. In NYC, illegals are taking away union jobs in the construction industry, so that in a very few years, everything that native born Americans have fought for through the unions, decent pay, health benefits, retirement accounts etc;, will disappear thanks to the cheap labor that illegals provide. I work on non-union jobs and know first hand that they are routinely abused because they receive no training, have no union protection, don't get paid when they are supposed to (if at all), are forced to work unsafely, etc;. So their presence has degraded the once coveted workforce in NYC, into an increasingly dangerous and abusive environment. Thank you illegals, and mayor Bloomberg(for your sanctuary city policy that encourages this) for all of your help!

[Rev. G. Jude Geiger]

12:10 PM on 06/26/2012

Allow them access to citizenship and your tax problem is solved. Clearly, they're already working hard. They are as willing to pay income tax as the rest of us. Migrants already pay sales tax - which is higher in states like Arizona than it is in most of the rest of the country.

Regardless - the point of this article is to point out the human atrocities. Please don't fixate on your checkbook. Even if you hold on to your view that immigrants shouldn't be here, that does not change the fact that we shouldn't be brutalizing people in this fashion. Especially for the crime of wanting to offer a better life for their children.

[TASK 541]

04:43 PM on 06/26/2012

All potential immigrants already have access to citizenship. They just do not want to be bothered to do it "Legally". As to the brutalization of illegals, if they think that they will be brutalized here, then why do they come illegally? By the way, are you familiar with Mexico's policy on immigration? How come there's no outcry in Mexico from Rev's like yourself? Maybe it's because they, as a country, would not tolerate foreigners interfering with their policies.

[apathycat]

12:36 PM on 06/25/2012

People forget America was built by immigrants. People like Jan Brewer and Sheriff Arapio use fear mongering to rationalize the use of these detention camps that treat people worse than animals. It's shameful that this is legal in America.

[CarolynNewYork]

01:15 PM on 06/26/2012

To say nothing of the fact that much of the Southwest was part of Mexico before the US annexed it, so Mexican-American culture predates the flow of Caucasian- Americans who now want to keep Mexicans out.

Our society is more competitive than raising powers precisely because we welcome immigrants.