I'm part of a small chain migration to the United States. Aliens like us have to have an American sponsor. My mother's sister married an American soldier. He sponsored us, which means he took responsibility for us-- we could come to the U.S. but we should not become a burden on the United States. It was tough at first but things soon got better. I did not know about white privilege at the time, but I do now. And I learned a lot about white - black differences during the Civil Rights movement.
It is fitting to think about immigration and racial issues on this weekend when we celebrate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. His tireless efforts helped change attitudes, laws, and lives for the better. We see the progress but understand that his dream is unfulfilled.
*****
One cold March school break near Easter, bundeled in warm coats, we loaded into dad's used two tone blue '53 Chevy and headed from New Jersey to Florida for the first time. That's when we saw the signs that read "White's Only." And we saw only black people hard at work in the fields along the highway--it was like seeing photos in a history book from centuries ago--but it wasn't that long ago. I may not have remembered this part of the trip so much if it hadn't struck my parents in such a profound manner.
You know the history. By the late 1960s, African Americans had made great gains. Last year, my wife and I visited the new National Museum of African American History and Culture. There we were reminded about the cruelty of a different form of "chain migration." And I was again reminded of the black and white images burned into my memory from childhood. Why did it take so long to remove the social shackles after the metal ones were unlocked?
*****
There are challenges of racism before us this week. For several years now, African Americans have been targets of police brutality and shootings, which reminds us of the problem of racism in the nation. And the current president stands accused of racism when he denounced people from certain countries--"holes" that don't house desirable people (npr, 2018).
There remains an invisible enchainment referred to by sociologists as mass incarceration. I read an essay by Peter Althouse (2016) who challenges Christians with data and ethical arguments to consider the lack of justice evident in the high rates of incarceration of Black Americans compared to Whites. According to Hager (WP, 2017) one in 60 white children have a parent behind bars but the rate for black children is one in 10. It's hard to believe that justice is blind.
Another challenge is the future of the group called "dreamers" who don't know their future status. It must seem more like a nightmare. Dreamers came to the US as children. Through no fault of their own, they have no documentation of legal entry into the U.S. Will they be allowed to become citizens? Will they be sent back to a birth country they hardly know?
President Obama worked on behalf of the dreamers. A program known as DACA (Defered Action for Childhood Arrivals) was established to grant certain rights to those who have not engaged in criminal conduct and do not pose a threat to the U.S. Dreamers are part of a chain, but it is an illegal chain. They come to the U.S. as children. They may have younger siblings who are born in the U.S. They may have married an American citizen and have American children. In the case of undocumented children, the chain of migration binds them as a family. But unless the laws change, the family bonds may be broken.
And now, to be more clear about the chain migration debate, U. S. politicians are arguing about immigration policy. Currently, chain migration is legal-- it is a term referring to the right of green card holders to serve as sponsors for family members who wish to become permanent residents of the U.S. President Trump asserts that it is too easy to bring people in who have limited skills and may pose a threat to national security. He wants to restrict the number of immigrants and establish merit-based criteria for new immigrants (White House, 15 December 2017).
It appears some sort of deal will be worked out to change immigration laws and provide some rights for "dreamers." Unfortunately, the whole discussion about immigrations occurs in an ugly context of racism, which is where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. fits in the story. This is a fitting weekend to remember this world class Civil Rights leader and commit anew to his dream of freedom for all people. It's hard to fight when your hands are joined.
When we allow freedom to ring-when we let it ringfrom every city and every hamlet, from every state andevery city, we will be able to speed up that day when allof God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual,"Free at last, Free at last, Great God a-mighty, "We arefree at last."
--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963
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