Happy Cinco de Mayo!

It is the 5th of May or Cinco de Mayo in Spanish. The day that commemorates a victory of a small militia over invading French forces in 1862 has become a cultural celebration of Mexican and Latino heritage.

A debate has been going on in this country about immigration. And as with any hot button issue, usually the facts are the first casualty of this immigration battle. Unfortunately this is the case here today. To further muddy things up, the State of Arizona has recently passed a law that gives police the right to ask anybody whom they deem to be suspicious, for their green card or immigration documents.

I wont debate the merits of this under the Constitution or if a state has the right to do so (which I believe they don't), but rather what seems to be behind the law itself.

First when we talk about immigration, many white skinned Americans forget that we ourselves are either immigrants or descendants of immigrants. The reasons our ancestors left their home country for here are varied. Some came to make their fortune, some came for political reasons, some came to start over, but all were seeking the dream of a better life for themselves and their families, and the freedom that America promised. Even then discrimination was rampant in response to certain ethnic groups be it Irish, Italian, German, etc. But in just 1 or 2 generations many assimilated and looked like everyone else.

Now as many of our sisters and brothers from the south come to this country in search of that dream and better life, the debate has escalated. Some of the same prejudices that were evident in the 19th and early 20th centuries are present here. But the difference now is that this particular wave of immigrants doesn't look like everyone else. Some of Latino heritage who were born in the U.S. either as 2nd or 3rd or 4th generation still are looked upon as "not from here."

What is unfortunate is that our federal government has failed in updating it's overall immigration policy and so states are acting on their own. Most of us out of lack of information and fear of the other are more than willing to comply. The myths about immigration run rampant. We assume anyone with brown skin either is suspect or is helping someone who is undocumented.

Here are the facts. There are at least 12 million immigrants currently in the US working and living here legally. They pay federal income taxes, state income taxes, sales tax etc. Approximately 25 percent of immigrants are now undocumented. Over 40 percent of those are people whom their work Visas have expired, or have overstayed their visas. They cannot get them renewed due to inefficient and improperly staffed immigration offices with the state department.

It is also troubling when we say that immigrants are taking American Jobs. In this economy it is easy for us to stereotype even someone who is working here legally. But consider our friends from Canada, who we met in North Carolina. They immigrated to this country to change jobs and establish new careers. They kept some of their traditions such as Canadian Thanksgiving (Columbus day here in the US), Boxing Day, and the particular way they served their tea. They also pronounced things a little bit differently, words like schedule, and Mazda. Never once did anyone complain that they were taking away American jobs, or were forcing their culture on the rest of us. After the appropriate amount of time, they became U.S. citizens. My hunch is that if they were traveling in Arizona, they would not be asked to produce proof of this.

All this is to say is that as a nation of immigrants, a nation that includes a large amount of people who profess to be Christians we would do well to heed the words of scripture. Jesus reminds us in Matthew's Gospel to not judge or we too will be judged, and that when we welcome the stranger, we welcome him. Leviticus 19:33-34 explicitly commands "When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God."

On this day when we celebrate the Culture and heritage of our neighbors to the south, let us remember to welcome one another, for all of us were immigrants, and all of us are children of God.