Prayer for Immigrants

From Bishop Joseph Strickland

It is right and just that nations protect their borders and their citizens, and it is right and just that illegal immigrants who fled their own country as convicted criminals, and those who have committed violent crimes while in our nation, and those who came to plot against our government be returned to their homeland. However, we must also be aware that there are many who have fled to this country because of desperate situations of various kinds, in some cases to escape unjust persecution, abuse and extreme poverty. Obeying the law is of great importance, of course, and it would certainly be best if they had entered legally – but we must admit that if faced with those kinds of circumstances, for example to feed our hungry children or to protect them from harm, most of us would do the same. What particularly complicates the illegal immigration problem that the U.S. now faces is that our government for many years has ignored the law and has virtually rolled out a red carpet for immigrants to enter illegally, providing free phones, food, clothing, housing, health care and education – more than our own homeless citizens and troubled veterans have received. Moreover, some of these who have entered illegally fill jobs that our own citizens needed to survive. This puts us in the uncomfortable situation of having to decide how to correct a situation that our own government caused without causing undue harm to those who were facilitated in entering illegally by our own government.

Although it is a fact that our own underprivileged citizens have not received the assistance and jobs they need, in some cases because we have welcomed large numbers of illegal immigrants, it is important that we not extend a blanket of condemnation against those who came here due to desperate situations, and who were illegally welcomed by our own government and agencies contracted by our own government. This situation came about because our own government failed to perform some of its fundamental duties – it has not protected its own citizens, it has not used humane methods to separate those who were fleeing persecution and those who wished our country harm, and it has allowed hundreds of thousands of immigrant children to disappear – many of whom were trafficked to get here and are trafficked once they arrive.

It is also a fact that many of these individuals have taken jobs that Americans refused to take and, therefore, not only will they be harmed by deportation, but in many ways, we will be, too. Being “just” to all involved, while guarding always the sanctity and dignity of each human life, is not an easy matter in this situation that our own government has been complicit in creating.

It seems that, up to this point, our government is concentrating on deporting criminals, many of whom had already been slated for deportation but had been permitted to remain. The present administration is to be commended for performing these basic duties of a government. However, we must not lose sight of the human element in all of this and consider that the actions by our own government, both those of the previous administration and now those of this administration, have and will in the future affect the lives of real human beings. Although we stand in appreciation of this administration for trying to “right wrongs” that have previously occurred by returning us to law and order, we must also consider that in many cases we are impacting people who have been lied to and told that here in this country they would be welcomed and would find refuge. Therefore, we must be careful not to condemn them simply because they believed our own government’s lies.

At this point, then, we must ask – is it just and humane to send home even those who have entered due to persecution or desperate situations at home, and who have found jobs and are paying taxes and are contributing to our country? This is not an “easy fix” because, although they have entered “illegally,” they were welcomed into this country with the blessing of our own government. Is it right then at this point to send them back without even exporting the goods they have worked to obtain? We as a country need to have a discussion about what humane and decent treatment of these fellow human beings looks like when put into action.

I, therefore, would like to ask that we pray this prayer:

Loving, Merciful Father, we pray for all the immigrants who are being deported from this country. We pray for the swift deportation of criminals and terrorists, for their conversion, and for the safety of the citizens in the countries to which they return. We also pray that our government will treat justly people who came through “open borders” and who, therefore, believed they were welcome here. We pray that our government leaders respect the laws of this nation but also that the innocent not suffer for the wrong-doing of lawless leaders. We pray for wisdom for those who must make decisions about these “illegal” immigrants who have become a part of the fabric of our country, whom we have come to love as neighbors and co-workers. May these beloved sons and daughters of God be treated with compassion.

+Joseph