In this short clip from a recent sermon, Pastor Efrem encourages European Americans to remember their own immigrant heritage and history in order to inform their current attitudes toward immigration policy.
Efrem Smith is the senior pastor of The Sanctuary Covenant Church, with the vision to be an urban, multi-ethnic, relevant, holistic, and Christ-centered community. He has held leadership positions in organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club of America and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and is the author of numerous articles and books, including The Hip-Hop Church.
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If I recall correctly, my heritage is identical to Voldemort's in those details. I'll have to check.
So... What are the known gripes against the current system? The first one I think of is the whole quota system. Only X French and Y Japanese can enter this year, first come first serve. Is this idea justified? Do we omit any essential factors for determining quotas?
I know some people think this is a xenophobic policy, but would unlimited quotas end up causing problems? By now most of Mexico might have been living in the border states... (No, I don't mean like right now; the drug lords might have been the only ones left down there.)
One obvious gripe is the toll we charge for people to come across. I could take issue with this if no one offers a good defense.
Our policies probably should be more lenient than they are, but I don't know; that's not my field. But while it's against the law, it is against the law.
I don't have any speakers on this computer, but I'll listen to the audio when I get home.
kansasmennonite
Listening to AFR radio again this noon and they had a speaker talking about illegal immigrants and of course they take the (hard ass) approach (like they always do). A hispanic lady called in and said that the illegal immigrants were hard workers and suggesting reasons for them coming over here and when she was off the air they belittled her and stuck to their old (it's against the law and heck with them attitude). I don't want that kind of christianity but unfortuneatly they have the airwaves now to preach their hate.
Lord_Voldemort
If you don't mind, Rev. Smith, I'll tell you my family's story, I happen to know it better than you do. They're my relatives after all, speaking in accents that I am much more familiar with.
My family immigrated here legally at a time when legal immigration was every bit as difficult, if not more so, than it is today. They found a sponsor in the US, then they came in through customs, openly, rather than sneaking across the border eluding law enforcement.
They learned the language and culture and over time time they became Americans, not through a post-hoc "legalization" set up solely for the benefit of illegal border-crossers, but under a set of naturalization rules that were set up in advance and that applied to all who wished to come.
But more than that, they genuinely abandoned their old allegiances and adopted an American identity as their own.
That's the story of my ancestors, and the lesson I draw, and that I would commend to you, is that orderly, legal immigration is possible and that it is much preferable to chaos and massive illegal immigration.
LV
letjusticerolldown
Wholeheartedly agree.
If the United States had not one human being wishing to migrate here or away from here--we would still have a dysfunctional immigration policy.
The population of the planet is unprecedented. The population is on the move--into new nations--called big cities--that move goods, services, ideas, ideologies, pollution, wars and money around the globe, beyond borders, 24/7.
Rather than have an immigration reform focused on individual humans moving into our nation--we ought craft a policy as to the place of the United States within a global population that is on the move. Aside from such a vision--the management issues of immigration across our borders is meaningless and unguided.
Efrem Smith is the senior pastor of The Sanctuary Covenant Church, with the vision to be an urban, multi-ethnic, relevant, holistic, and Christ-centered community. He has held leadership positions in organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club of America and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and is the author of numerous articles and books, including The Hip-Hop Church
