Cultural Engagement by Josh Chatraw & Karen Swallow Prior

Author:Josh Chatraw & Karen Swallow Prior [Chatraw, Joshua D. & Prior, Karen Swallow]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
Published: 2019-05-02T00:00:00+00:00

Actual Policy Is Complicated

In actuality, the situation is messy. On the one hand, the United States bears some of the blame for the current situation. As Darrell Bock observes, for the past thirty years or so since the most recent policy has been in place, the US has not only enforced policy weakly and inconsistently but has also done a lot of “eye-winking,” even “encourag[ing] people to come and establish themselves.”8 Because of this, “several generations of undocumented and illegal people have been and are here, often with our initial acceptance.”9 Compounding the situation is the fact that there has been no clear, reliable way for immigrants to gain citizenship once they are already in the US temporarily with a visa. Forty percent of all illegal immigrants were once legally in the country (as visitors, students, or temporary workers) with visas, but were unable to extend their visas, so they chose to break the law to stay.10 In light of how poorly the US has handled its immigration policies and the fact that many illegal immigrants and their families have been firmly established in the US for years,11 suddenly deporting illegal immigrants en masse isn’t a viable option. It would be inhumane.

On the other hand, conservatives have legitimate questions and concerns. For instance, do immigrants take away jobs and drive down wages?12 If this possibility had a negative effect primarily on the upper-class Americans, then some might write this off as simple greed. However, this monetary concern is likely felt most acutely by many lower-class American families.

Also, unauthorized immigration raises concerns about our vulnerability to national security breaches and other illegal activities. Regardless of who immigrants are, where they are coming from, or whether they have posed a significant threat thus far, it is extremely unwise and dangerous to admit anyone into our country through lax enforcement if we have no idea who they are.

In seeking to show compassion to immigrants longing to get into the United States, we must not neglect to consider our fellow citizens.

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