Opinion: Migrants are not invaders

I bet there have been times that you, like me, have experienced that empty feeling that you do not belong here, that you are an unwelcomed person – persona non grata.

Now magnify that feeling many times. Imagine that you had to flee from your native country because of unbearable persecution and/or dire poverty conditions. Imagine that your journey to another, hopefully, better country, poses constant risks of hunger, rape, and death. 

Now imagine that when you finally reach that country which you hope will have mercy on you, instead, you find a wall that screams at you “Go back to where you came from – persona non grata!”

Imagine asking your exhausted, hungry, cold, homeless self, “What do I do now?”

You cannot go back to certain misery. So, you struggle to find a way, across the treacherous Mediterranean Sea on a people-packed small rubber boat toward Europe. Or you decide to journey, with no access to GPS, through the perilous Sonoran Desert to enter the U.S. – without permission, that is, undocumented, because legal entry is almost impossible (see: https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/why-legal-immigration-nearly-impossible). 

Finally, you make it, still alive. Many do not.

Now that you have crossed the border you learn of a church that offers you shelter, food, water, and Christian fraternal love. And they help you find work – “under the table,” of course – for the government has deemed it illegal for you to work. So, the only jobs available are mostly the grueling, dangerous, low-paying jobs that the vast majority of legal citizens will not do, like backbreaking farm labor in scorching heat.

Now, after all of this, imagine that the country you are now living in has decided to massively, militarily, forcefully deport as many undocumented people as possible – falsely claiming they are only deporting dangerous criminals.

Well, imagine no more. This is exactly what U.S. President Donald Trump has ordered the American government to do. He has ordered the Defense Department to “seal the borders.”

Recent reports from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have stated that it is arresting an average of 710 immigrants daily from operations in places including Chicago, Dallas, and Atlanta.

Even places of worship, schools, and hospitals are in the crosshairs of ICE. 

In his inaugural address, Trump callously said, “I will send troops to the southern border to repel the disastrous invasion of our country.”

Kristi Noem, the new secretary of homeland security, said that an 18-month extension of Temporary Protective Status for Venezuelans issued by former President Biden has been rescinded. Reportedly, she said “The people of this country [U.S.] want these dirtbags out. They want their communities to be safe.”

However, research demonstrates that undocumented immigrants commit far less crime than U.S.-born people (see: https://bit.ly/3CBRWSr). Immigrants are nearly always wonderful assets to the communities they live and work in. 

Millions of migrants seeking safety and work are not invaders! They are our brothers and sisters. And we have a moral obligation to welcome them.

The biblical word of God declares: “You shall treat the alien who resides with you no differently than the natives born among you; you shall love the alien as yourself; for you too were once aliens in the land of Egypt” (Lev. 19:33-34). You too have felt unwelcomed – persona non grata. 

Having grown up in a family of Italian immigrants in Argentina, Pope Francis has long prioritized the sufferings of migrants. He continues to often encourage governments, Catholics, and all people of goodwill to use four verbs as compassionate moral guides towards migrants: welcome, protect, promote and integrate.

Let’s put our Holy Father’s four verbs into action. Let’s welcome, protect, promote and integrate our migrant brothers and sisters; and urge our governments to do the same!

Tony Magliano is an internationally syndicated Catholic social justice and peace columnist. He is available to speak at diocesan or parish gatherings. Tony can be reached at [email protected].