From the WSJ Opinion Archives
HOUSES OF WORSHIP
Welcoming the Stranger
Faith-based groups say it's time to reform immigration.
"Atithi devo bhava: Look upon the guest as God." That's the Hindu principle that should guide our policies toward immigrants in this country, says Suhag Shukla, legal counsel for the Hindu American Foundation. Ms. Shukla says that it is time for the U.S. to adopt a more "humane" system, particularly for families seeking reunification and those wanting asylum from oppressive regimes.
This Hindu voice is hardly alone. In the past couple of months, several faith-based groups have come out in support of immigration reforms of one kind or another, finding a religious imperative in what is often seen as a secular political debate.
Jihad Turk, the director of religious affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California, believes that Muslims, "as people of conscience and faith, have to protect those in need of protection." And his religious community is practicing what it preaches, most recently helping several families of Bosnian refugees to resettle here.
Some groups are contributing on a much larger scale. The Episcopal Migration Ministries works with the U.S. government to resettle between 2,500 and 3,000 refugees a year. "No story in the New Testament fully expresses the belief in hospitality as well as the story of the good Samaritan," says C. Richard Parkins, the organization's director. He cites other biblical injunctions as well, like Hebrews 13:2: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."
What does that "entertaining" consist of? For the Catholic Church, it involves helping immigrants learn English, find homes and jobs, and get their children enrolled in school. Many religious groups provide legal aid so that immigrants can bring relatives over as well.
"Family reunification should be the cornerstone of immigration policy," says Mark Franken, executive director of migration and refugee services for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Ralston Deffenbaugh, the president of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services (LIRS), agrees, citing the case of a New Jersey parishioner from Guyana whose developmentally disabled brother may have to wait 14 years to join her here, even though there is no one to care for him in their native country.
"The church needs to be a bridge, helping immigrants to adapt and move to full participation, including citizenship," says Mr. Franken. With more than 1.3 million legal and illegal immigrants arriving in the U.S. each year, some critics wonder whether the country can really integrate them culturally. The religious leaders I interviewed are unanimous in their support of a policy of assimilation and believe that most immigrants are already on the right track.
"A lot of the arguments used against Latino immigrants today are not so different than those used against Jews," says Gideon Aronoff of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society. He notes that Jews in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were accused of bringing "un-American ideas here, of being too radical, too foreign." Such ideas tragically led the U.S. to lower the quota of Jews allowed to come here in the years leading up to the Holocaust. And Mr. Aronoff notes the absurdity of the un-American charge: "Everyone is foreign until they become integrated."
The concern of these organizations includes refugees--Matt Wilch, the director for policy at LIRS, observes that the Old Testament is about a refugee people and the New Testament is about a refugee family--but extends to immigrants coming here for economic opportunities. Though none of the religious leaders I spoke to want to open our borders completely, they agree with Mr. Aronoff that "reforming immigration laws can have the humanitarian benefits of protecting migrants who are dying in the deserts of Arizona and people who are suffering exploitation in the workplace because of their undocumented status."
Some of these leaders expressed the hope that the U.S. would work to improve the situation in other countries--enough to make such migrations unnecessary. In the meantime, however, they are happy to continue helping those in need and wish the U.S. government would allow them to take on more responsibility by raising the number of immigrants who are allowed in (both refugees and others). "We get calls and letters from parishioners," says Mr. Franken, "people who have worked with refugees and want to do more." Mr. Parkins, harking back to Hebrews once again, argues "every person who is resettled here sends a message that there are still nations and communities willing to receive the stranger unconditionally."
Ms. Riley is deputy editor of The Wall Street Journal's Taste page and the author of "God on the Quad" (St. Martin's).
