“. . . YOU DID IT FOR ME”

January 7, 2007

Given the number of letters and e-mails, telephone and personal communications that I have recently received, it seems appropriate for us to consider the whole issue of immigration. It is an issue that affects our national security, our concern for families, the welfare of many of our children, and the need for an effective labor force in our farming and building industries. It is an issue that touches the lives of thousands of individuals who are longing for a better life, and in effect touches the life of every American, in one way or another.
It is a complex issue, especially because of the many players in the field. There are the vigilante groups, like the Minutemen, the resolute Border Patrol Agents who have a job to do, the Members of the House of Representatives and the Senate who must enact our laws, those charged with homeland security, farmers, business people and the migrants. How de we sort out these varying and often diametrically conflicting interests?
In our America, the answer is simple – we must apply the rule of law. But what does that mean and what does it imply? Civil law, responsibly enacted and judiciously applied, is absolutely necessary for order in our society. Let us consider the role that each of these players is to perform. We can all agree that there is no room in our society for vigilantes, that the Border Patrol Agents and law enforcement personnel have an invaluable place in our society, and that we need a responsive labor force to satisfy the requirements of our businesses, our farms, our gardens; indeed, of our nation’s overall economy.
As residents of the Texas border with México, we are more than familiar with abject poverty “on the other side” (of the river). We can see the dichotomy that exists there, between the rich and the poor. We understand how those who live over there and look “hacia el otro lado” (of the same river) can imagine a land of plenty from which they might harvest even a meager mode of existence for their starving families. And, as we reflect upon these realities, we cannot help but hear the words of the Declaration of Independence echo in our subconscious, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men (and women) are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
In making this brave declaration, the founding fathers of this nation made it clear that, at times and in given circumstances, the civil law must necessarily look to the higher law on which it is based. This higher law is what we call the divine law or the natural law that places the primordial and central value on human life or on the human person. The rule of civil law has great value, but it cannot be accurately understood apart from the natural law and the divine law. It cannot be so absolute as to violate the “unalienable Rights” of individuals, no matter where they live or whence they come. When people are dying of hunger in their homeland or dying of thirst in our deserts, the natural law takes over. The rule of law is replaced by the higher law of love found in the Gospel.

In varied ways, throughout his life on earth, Jesus articulated his lesson of love. When he was asked what was the greatest commandment, he replied that there were two, to love God above all things and to love you’re your neighbor as you love yourself (cf. Lk 10:27). And he declared love to be the ultimate identifying and defining sign of the Christian, “This is how all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:35).
Ours is a nation that is governed by the rule of law; ours is a church that is governed by the law of love. Our mission is to make the two, one in our own lives. In regard to the rule of law, we must indispensably work toward the creation of just and equitable immigration laws, by exerting our influence on the men and women whom we have elected to represent us in our legislative bodies. Everyone knows that the present immigration policy in our country is seriously flawed. It must be changed by enacting new laws that are comprehensive in scope and address the needs and yearnings of all concerned. Now is the time to write our Senators and Members of Congress in the House of Representatives to express our views in regard to the laws that must be enacted to develop a new immigration policy that will benefit all concerned and not harm the business and farming industries in our Valley. Most of us in the Valley are convinced that the fence is not the answer.

In next week’s column I will discuss the law of love lived out and preached in the New Testament, and how we must work at making the rule of law and law of love one in our lives.

+Bishop Raymundo J. Peña

last updated 05-Jun-2008 9:48 sitemap