Another Wall

As a nation of immigrants, I am amazed at the hostility and bitterness of many of us as we struggle to cope with the influx of the large numbers of persons who are crossing our borders with hope for a better life. Am I not to love mercy and do justice? However, according to the news we are going to build 2.2 billion dollar wall. The lessons of the Berlin Wall, The Great Wall of China, Hadrian’s Wall and other great walls of history seem to have fallen on deaf ears and numb hearts. Yes, I know about criminals and terrorists and the need for good security measures. However, it is poverty that is forcing most of the immigrants to leave their homes just in order to survive. Much of this poverty is a result of international trade agreements on nations such as Mexico. A large number of our immigrants have been drawn here by the promise of work. And work they have been doing. They have filled in the gaps, and continue to fill in gaps in the labor market, gaps that are unattractive to Americans. They are farm workers and nannies, lawn care workers, construction workers and restaurant workers. We want this cheap labor, but don’t want their children to go school with our children, to live in our neighborhoods, and to receive healthcare and other social benefits. It just doesn’t seem to me that building a wall is the proper response of God’s people who themselves were sojourners for forty years as they sought the Promised Land. Instead, let me be guided by this prayer of the theologian, Reinhold Niebuhr:

O God, you have bound us together in this life. Give us grace to understand how our lives depend on the courage, the industry, the honesty, and the integrity of all who labor. May we be mindful of their needs, grateful for their faithfulness, and faithful in our responsibilities to them, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.