A few days ago I was riding back to Casa Esperanza on a crowded bus. In the midst of the heat and chaos a young man approached us and said in a familiar accent, “Excuse me… if you don’t mind me asking, where are you guys from?” His name was Mario. We introduced ourselves and the conversation began. Mario was born in Chile but grew up in Florida. His parents immigrated there illegally and they brought Mario with them as a child. Seven years ago, Mario was deported and sent back to Chile. He was 18. He left a child, wife and job behind in Florida. He grew up speaking Spanish at home but the dialect of Chile is highly isolated due to the geography so he can’t communicate fluently here. The only remaining family member Mario had in Chile was his grandfather who passed away recently. Mario is in the process of immigrating back to the U.S. to be with his son and somehow still has a kind and helpful demeanor. I’m not so sure that I could put a smile on if I were in his shoes. I’d be angry if I’m being honest.
Unfortunately, Mario’s story is not an isolated incident. At dinner last night one of the girls shared a prayer request. Her request was that her cousin and his wife not end up separated due to immigration issues. His wife is from Mexico and the buzz around immigration and specifically Mexican immigrants has left families in fear of separation.
If you know anything about me then you know how much I love politics. They fascinate me. They’re fun to discuss and analyze. The statistics, polls, and processes are all pieces of the fabric that makes up our country’s political process. In high school, I’m sad to admit that I was a part of friend groups where it wasn’t uncommon to hear jokes about Latinos. The truth is that it’s really easy to argue and word vomit statements about which children should be allowed to stay and which should get shipped off to a country they’ve never known. It’s easy when you aren’t dining at their table and hearing their honest pleas to the Almighty on behalf of their families. A recent struggle of mine has been that I fiercely love my country. I love the United States and I’m so proud to be an American. However, I’m not proud of the fact that prejudice is normalized in so many communities. When we asked Mario why he was back in Chile and he said “I was deported” all I could respond with was “I’m sorry”. Mario didn’t sound angry when he said it. He sounded resigned. Now it isn’t my fault nor is it yours that Mario was deported. Just like it wasn’t Mario’s fault that his parents brought him to Florida illegally. I write all this in the hopes that the next time you read a headline on TV, you’ll to see the faces behind it. The children of God being affected by the message you’re reading. I ask you to pray and speak out of compassion and not out of pride or fear. As children of the Father, we share citizenship with one another no matter which country we come from. That bond crosses oceans, deserts and mountain ranges. It is meant to unite and remind us of our true nationality. I don’t write this blog post to slam anybody’s opinion or start a flame war online. I write this to encourage a more gentle approach to a topic that sends grown men into rage and has been a hot button issue for longer than I’ve been alive. This isn’t a debate. It’s a reminder to see the people behind the policy. Nothing more and nothing less. So here’s what you can do. Pray for our nation. Pray for our leaders. Pray for it’s citizens and pray that we would be unified in our shared inheritance in the kingdom of heaven.
