Another Crazy Making Irony- by Crissy Brooks

We say it's a "Win-Win"- those situations where each party involved benefits. As cheesy as the term sounds sometimes, it is nice when things work out well for everyone. I heard of a potential "win-win" a couple of weeks ago when one of my neighbors asked me to look over some paperwork.

My neighbor has been working as a Nurses Assistant at a convelascent home for 21 years. He makes $10.63 an hour and works full time. He has been in the process of getting his permanent residence status. He has paid a few thousand dollars in legal fees and gone through all the steps. He is in the homestretch.

What he needs to seal the deal is a paper signed by a "potential' employer stating that they will hire him once he has his papers. It seems fairly simple considering that he has been working under the radar at this company for two decades. I imagined that his boss would gladly sign the paper and congratulate my neighbor on becoming legal and thank him for his years of service doing the dirtiest jobs in the hospital.

Here it comes- the crazy making part: The supervisor won't sign the paper! But it's a "win-win"- you get a legal employee, he gets to walk proud, free of fear. Yeah, no.

In my naivete I am always sure there is a way to make things happen. I offered to go with my neighbor to plead with his supervisor. I offered to threaten him with phone calls to the immigration authorities. I coached my neighbor to have his lawyer call on his behalf. We racked our brains.

Now the deadline has come and gone with no signature. My neighbor will have to begin the process again- spending years and resources on one more try.

What is the fear that keeps us from helping? What is the pride that let's us play with others' futures? What did the employer have to gain by not signing the paper?

An Easter Meditation

…from M. Daniel Carrol R., on his Easter and the Immigration Question at Immigration and Other Matters Blog:

How might looking at immigration through the eyes of the cross and resurrection, and therefore the Lord’s Supper, affect our attitudes and perspectives… especially when millions of those who have come—both documented and undocumented—claim the Christian faith? What of the acceptance of the “other” and hospitality to the outsider? What of the sharing with brothers and sisters and of the testimony of unconditional love toward those who do not know Jesus, whether native-born or immigrant?

Read the whole article here.

Matthew Soerens on Christian Radio

Family Life put our friend Matt Soerens on the radio this week. You can listen to his great interview at this link. Once you listen to it, leave a message below.

"How can Christians balance law and grace in the debate over undocumented immigration? Join Martha as she talks with Matthew Soerens, the US Training Specialist for World Relief and co-author of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate." 

Undocumented and Unafraid…

…is the theme of many of young people who will benefit when the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is passed. Students and young people are organizing across Southern California and the country to improve their own lives and the lives of all of us as the contribute to a better world.

I met David at Which Way America?: Reframing, Regrouping and Realigning for Immigrant Integration in Los Angeles, an event of the Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration (CSII) earlier this month. David Cho is a recent UCLA graduate and leader. His compelling story demonstrates the diversity of the undocumented community. He is the son and grandson of pastors.




Watch for future posts from David Cho and others like him.

Crazy Making Ironies

Sometimes things can get so nutty! A couple of years ago our city council passed an ordinance that placed a Federal ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agent in our city jail. So now anyone who is picked up by the police is screened by an ICE agent. You don't have to be convicted or guilty of anything, just brought in for whatever reason and you are screened for documentation.

A couple months back a friend of mine refused to sleep with her abusive ex-husband when he brought the rent over. He got angry. She got scared and threw a plate at him. When the police got there he was bleeding and she wasn't so they took her away as the aggressor. It didn't seem to matter that he had a history of domestic violence. So my friend spent the night in jail. There were no charges brought against her and the case was dropped.

Except then she was on an immigration hold after having been processed through our city jail. So now she is in the process of being deported, in which case her three American citizen children will be left in the custody of their abusive father or child protective services.

That all seems pretty straight forward and some would even say it is fair. Technically, the law played out (whether or not it is a just law is another question). Here's where it gets nutty...

While our team is trying to get an immigration lawyer on the case I get a phone call from one of our city council members who was a strong proponent of placing the ICE agent in the jail. She is calling to say that she would like to recognize our organization at the next city council meeting with a Proclamation of our valuable community work.

The thing is that the woman in the process of being deported is the main force behind our "valuable community work." She rallied the neighbors to open the community center. She is the one who pulls people together to support a neighbor in need. She is the main idea woman behind our community seminars and programs.

So I went to the city council meeting to receive an award for my friend's work in the community that she is simultaneously being removed from by the same council's policy.

I don't know whether to laugh or scream my head off. Isn't it confusing to celebrate one's work on one hand and then condemn them on the other? It's too nutty. It's too real.

Intensive 2 Day Faith-Rooted Advocacy Training: Friday, May 13-14

From CLUE--OC:

We are excited to invite you to CLUE Orange County's Intensive 2 Day Faith-Rooted Advocacy Training: Friday, May 13 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm and Saturday, May 14 from 9:00am to 3:00pm. Location is TBD. Will be in Central/South Orange County. Please RSVP by filling out the form below no later than Monday, May 9, 2011. Registration fee of $30 per person can be mailed to 309 N Rampart, Ste. A, Orange, CA 92868 Attn: CLUE OC. Please note: FRO training on the memo line or make your payment at the door via cash/check. Thank you.

Register online here.

Refugees, Immigrants and the Gospel

When I talk to groups about immigrants that I know and the need for immigration reform, I mention how positively I have been affected by people from and in other countries--their generosity, hospitality, friendship, faith.

Today, at Undocumented.tv, Sharon Moore writes about her experience as a volunteer at World Relief's Durham, North Carolina office as a volunteer. Check out here blog:
How Refugees and Other Immigrants Preach the Gospel to Me.