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Three Epiphany gifts for today's immigrants |
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By Joe Towalski
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Wednesday, 30 December 2009 |
Visitors are coming to Minnesota from the East — and the South and West. They come bearing gifts — not gold, frankincense and myrrh — but gifts of hope and faith that deserve better recognition from us and our communities.
 Editorial
Joe Towalski
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Jan. 3, the feast of the Epiphany, marks Immigration Sunday in Minnesota, a time to raise our awareness about the men, women and children who have left their homelands in search of a better life for themselves and their families.
Epiphany reminds us that Jesus came as a savior for all, no matter
their country of origin or status in life. It’s a time when we hear the
Gospel story about the “Magi from the East” arriving with their three
gifts to honor the baby Jesus, who ended up being a refugee himself
after the Holy Family fled to Egypt for a time to escape King Herod’s
threat.
In the spirit of those visitors from the East, let’s celebrate
Immigration Sunday this year by offering three gifts of our own to our
brothers and sisters in Minnesota who are immigrants and refugees — the
newcomers to our civic and worshipping communities who too often feel
isolated and misunderstood because of anti-immigrant sentiments rooted
in ignorance and fear.
1 First, we can dispel myths about immigrants by making a commitment to
educate ourselves — to learn more about who today’s immigrants are, why
they come, what struggles they face under the current immigration
system and what our church teaches regarding how they should be treated.
Did you know, for example, that only 6.6 percent of our state’s
population today is foreign-born compared to 40 percent in 1890? Yet,
today’s immigrants come for much the same reason they did more than a
century ago: to escape persecution, oppression and poverty and reunite
with family members.
Unfortunately, today’s immigrants face a system in which enforcement
raids and detention policies sow fear, separate families, and push too
many immigrants into the shadows, where they are more open to
exploitation.
While lawmakers must rightfully craft policies that address security
and economic concerns related to immigration, those policies can’t come
at the expense of people’s human dignity and basic human rights.
In their 2008 statement, “Welcoming Our Immigrant Sisters and
Brothers,” Minnesota’s bishops noted that “people have a right to leave
their countries of origin when persecution, famine or war threaten
their lives and their rights to work and worship. When people make the
difficult decision to leave their homelands in search of a better life
for themselves and their families, we are called to assist them.”
 And they outlined criteria based on Catholic social teaching against
which to measure immigration reform proposals. The bishops urge us to
support policies that: recognize the inherent dignity of every human
being; seek to reunite, stabilize and strengthen families; ease the
path to citizenship for undocumented women and men who are living in
the United States; provide access to basic necessities; embody due
process protections; and reflect an awareness of the social, political
and economic causes of migration.
2 A second gift we can offer our immigrant brothers and sisters is
making time to experience their lives firsthand. That may include
volunteering at a local charity or other non-profit that serves
immigrants, or attending an ethnic or cultural festival hosted by
immigrant communities. That’s a fun, non-threatening way to meet
newcomers and learn about their heritage. The Catholic Spirit’s
Calendar page often features such celebrations when they take place at
area parishes.
3
Last, we can take the initiative to learn more about the ancestry of
our own families to gain a better appreciation of the challenges
immigrants face. Invite grandparents or great-grandparents to talk
about when and why they — or more distant immigrant relatives — came to
the United States. Have them explain the story behind old family
photos. Record their answers to share with other relatives and future
generations.
These three gifts will help us to see that most of today’s immigrants
aren’t much different from those in our own family histories who came
to this country in search of a better life. They also will help us to
see that we, too, like the Magi more than 2,000 years ago, have
something of value to offer the newcomer in our midst.
For more information about Immigration Sunday and suggestions for
observing it, visit the Minnesota Catholic Conference Web site at www.mncc.org.
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