By Randy J. Mayer
We hear a lot of talk about family values these days. Some talk about the decline of the family, the lack of respect for mother and father, the prevalence of single parent families, the foregoing of marriage vows, and the list goes on and on. Well if you are one of those people who are in despair about family values---you should come down to the Borderlands and you will experience family values like you have never seen before.
Folks from the Good Shepherd UCC in Sahuarita, Arizona have long witnessed the family values of the migrants that cross through the borderlands. People who care so much about their sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers that they are willing to struggle and suffer, even die a grisly death so that their families might live and prosper.
One such family was the Ovando Vasquez Family. They had crossed the US/Mexico Border years ago and had been living in Phoenix where they had been working and raising their three children. But when one of their parents had gotten sick they were summoned to come home. Both Mom and Dad raced back to Chiapas to be of assistance, leaving their three children with an Aunt for a few weeks. After the situation simmered down and their assistance was no longer needed they made the long trek back to the border and twice tried to cross back into the U.S. Their only thought was to be back with their children in their own home once again. This desire was so strong that both Mom and Dad almost died in the brutal Sonoran Desert. After the second attempt they were told that if they tried to cross again they would spend six months to a year in prison.
“But what about our family, will we ever see our children again?” That was the question they asked in Spanish as they sat in a Soup Kitchen in Nogales, Mexico. Their faces were hollow, their bodies were beaten and bruised, and their spirits were defeated. It was about that time two Samaritan volunteers from the Good Shepherd showed up to give medical care and were introduced to the Ovando Vasquez couple. The next thing you know the Samaritans are sent on a wild, grace-filled journey to reunite the family. It took a couple of days to work through the logistics but before long the three young children were safely buckled into the vehicle and headed for a tearful reunion in Mexico with their parents.
It’s a touching story that breaks everyone’s heart, for we want families to be together. These stories of family values are multiplied a hundredfold in the Borderlands and people begin to understand the complexities of life. Because people that believe in family values realize that parents make great sacrifices for their children, but no parent should ever be left in the situation where life and death are the choices. People that believe in family values understand that family reunification is a principle that is so strong and sacred that any law that denies it is against God’s law. People that believe in family values are people who know the bonds and love of their own family and want everyone to experience the same.
Family values are everywhere you look in the Borderlands. However, I am not so sure you can say the same when you venture to Phoenix where the state laws are ruthlessly hammered out, or if you travel east to Washington D.C. where it seems like no one has seen a real family for a long time. Nonetheless the invitation is open, come to the Borderlands and you just might have your heart and mind opened as you see with your own eyes---the value of family values.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Other Peoples' Mothers
The beginning of May is always a poignant time of year.
I feel the weight of May Day (as in the struggle for worker rights globally rather than dancing and flowers), Cinco de Mayo (as in commemoration of a beleaguered Mexican army's victory over a powerful French army rather than bottles of tequila), Mothers's Day (as in the struggle to "bewail and commemorate" the war dead rather than a brunch reservation at your favorite restaurant), and the end of May brings Memorial Day (as in solemn remembrance of our fallen service members rather than steaks on the grill). It's spring, flowers are blooming, days are warming (well, ok, in the Arizona desert, the only flowers we're seeing now are those on the ironwood trees and saguaro cactus, always a sign of triple digit temperatures just around the corner), and hope should be palpable.
This year brings an added layer of introspection as the Arizona Legislature has adjourned leaving some heavy bills on the Governor's desk. Last year at this time, we were burdened by the impending implementation of the "attrition through enforcement" law that Governor Brewer had just signed. This year, she signed bills that will see Arizona taxpayers footing the bill for a border fence as well as for a "state militia".
Interior Enforcement is often a silently destructive practice that has many mothers mourning the shredding of their families. Some states are pushing back out of the realization that engaging local law enforcement in enforcing immigration law might well serve the agendas of ICE and CBP but does nothing to build strong communities or support families in their struggles to make a living. Our law enforcement officers are intended to serve their community as Peace Officers, not as tools to implement a severely flawed strategy. The Department of Homeland Security declares that Secure Communities only seeks to deport "serious criminals" yet according to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, their research shows that 79 percent of those deported under Secure Communities not only did not commit any serious crime, they either did not commit any crime at all, or committed very low-level or administrative offenses.
Further, we continue to abuse the intellect and passion of our students by allowing the DREAM Act to fail once again. "These are not people who 'broke the law', they were brought here as infants and children. Punishing them [by deporting all of them] is like punishing a 1-year old for not wearing a seat belt...What future can we have without the economic prowess and social stability that come from an educated population?" (Roxie Bacon, former CIS Office of Chief Counsel attorney) Indeed, what future can we have as a nation when we systematically expend precious public resources on rounding up educated people for crimes they didn't commit and thereby destroying their families and the dreams of individuals who built this country to its greatness?
People actually get angry with me when I say this stuff from a pulpit. Yet, I cannot see how so many members of Christian congregations can even sit still much less stay silent about what is happening to the families, our neighbors in our communities. As of October 2010, seven of Arizona's fifteen counties are embroiled in Secure Communities agreements with ICE and to date, all Arizona Law Enforcement agencies are sharing arrest data with ICE. In Maricopa County we have seen the devastation wrought by a rogue sheriff implementing his 287(g) agreement (flawed predecessor to Secure Communities) radically enough to have DHS revoke his street agreement (his jails agreement remains in place).
So, for me, at this time of year in 2011, hope is really not all that palpable. I don't think we'll begin to feel any kind of hope for the kinds of strong communities that support families and thrive economically until people engage the teachings of a guy named Jesus. Peter said to the eleven, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." The corruption of this generation will go largely unnoticed without the voice of the Church calling us together.
I feel the weight of May Day (as in the struggle for worker rights globally rather than dancing and flowers), Cinco de Mayo (as in commemoration of a beleaguered Mexican army's victory over a powerful French army rather than bottles of tequila), Mothers's Day (as in the struggle to "bewail and commemorate" the war dead rather than a brunch reservation at your favorite restaurant), and the end of May brings Memorial Day (as in solemn remembrance of our fallen service members rather than steaks on the grill). It's spring, flowers are blooming, days are warming (well, ok, in the Arizona desert, the only flowers we're seeing now are those on the ironwood trees and saguaro cactus, always a sign of triple digit temperatures just around the corner), and hope should be palpable.
This year brings an added layer of introspection as the Arizona Legislature has adjourned leaving some heavy bills on the Governor's desk. Last year at this time, we were burdened by the impending implementation of the "attrition through enforcement" law that Governor Brewer had just signed. This year, she signed bills that will see Arizona taxpayers footing the bill for a border fence as well as for a "state militia".
Interior Enforcement is often a silently destructive practice that has many mothers mourning the shredding of their families. Some states are pushing back out of the realization that engaging local law enforcement in enforcing immigration law might well serve the agendas of ICE and CBP but does nothing to build strong communities or support families in their struggles to make a living. Our law enforcement officers are intended to serve their community as Peace Officers, not as tools to implement a severely flawed strategy. The Department of Homeland Security declares that Secure Communities only seeks to deport "serious criminals" yet according to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, their research shows that 79 percent of those deported under Secure Communities not only did not commit any serious crime, they either did not commit any crime at all, or committed very low-level or administrative offenses.
Further, we continue to abuse the intellect and passion of our students by allowing the DREAM Act to fail once again. "These are not people who 'broke the law', they were brought here as infants and children. Punishing them [by deporting all of them] is like punishing a 1-year old for not wearing a seat belt...What future can we have without the economic prowess and social stability that come from an educated population?" (Roxie Bacon, former CIS Office of Chief Counsel attorney) Indeed, what future can we have as a nation when we systematically expend precious public resources on rounding up educated people for crimes they didn't commit and thereby destroying their families and the dreams of individuals who built this country to its greatness?
People actually get angry with me when I say this stuff from a pulpit. Yet, I cannot see how so many members of Christian congregations can even sit still much less stay silent about what is happening to the families, our neighbors in our communities. As of October 2010, seven of Arizona's fifteen counties are embroiled in Secure Communities agreements with ICE and to date, all Arizona Law Enforcement agencies are sharing arrest data with ICE. In Maricopa County we have seen the devastation wrought by a rogue sheriff implementing his 287(g) agreement (flawed predecessor to Secure Communities) radically enough to have DHS revoke his street agreement (his jails agreement remains in place).
So, for me, at this time of year in 2011, hope is really not all that palpable. I don't think we'll begin to feel any kind of hope for the kinds of strong communities that support families and thrive economically until people engage the teachings of a guy named Jesus. Peter said to the eleven, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." The corruption of this generation will go largely unnoticed without the voice of the Church calling us together.
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