Welcoming the Stranger
On being loved by my immigrant neighbors
Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me. – Matthew 25:34-35
When I read these verses, I think of my immigrant neighbors. For the past 20 years, I’ve been part of a Latino, immigrant community. I’ve lived, worked, and raised my family in this neighborhood. These neighbors had no reason to trust me. I don’t look like them or sound like them. I come from a different place. I was a stranger to them. But they welcomed me into their community and their homes. They’ve invited me to quinceañeras and graduations. They’ve fed me birria, pupusas, and tamales. They’ve offered me aguas frescas and champurrado. They showered me with gifts when I was pregnant with my daughter. They’ve babysat my kids. They’ve called me family.
These are the people who are being targeted by the immigration raids. The administration wants you to believe that they are detaining and deporting dangerous criminals. While there may be some people with criminal records, the vast majority of people who are being rounded up, abducted from the streets, and torn from their families are people who simply want to have a chance at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness like the rest of us. They are people who work hard and give generously. They make our communities better and more beautiful with their love, wisdom, and creativity.
My immigrant neighbors are scared right now. They are faced with the choice to risk deportation if they go to work or risk food insecurity and the inability to pay rent if they stay home. They have known what it’s like to hide in the shadows for years, but what’s happening right now is a new level of threat.
These immigration raids do not make our communities safer. They do not make America greater. They only serve to instill fear, to stir up division, and to dehumanize people made in the image of God. They are ripping families and communities apart. They are creating chaos and instability for the systems that support us all.
Jesus calls my immigrant neighbors blessed. He welcomes them into his family just as they’ve welcomed me into theirs. May we all have eyes to see our immigrant neighbors as Jesus does.
If you are looking for ways to care for the immigrant community, I encourage you to reach out to your elected officials. Let them know that you are concerned about the immigration raids and that you want transparency and accountability from the federal government. Ask them to conduct wellness checks at the facilities where immigrants are being detained as it is in their legal authority to do.
If you don’t know who to contact or how, visit https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.
If you’re local to Orange County, check out the OC Rapid Response Network. Follow them on social media @ocrrn. Donate to their mutual aid fund.
And please pray. Pray for protection over the immigrants in our communities. Pray for peace in our cities. Pray for compassion, integrity, and courage for our elected officials.
