Arizona as Egypt in the Illegal Immigration Debate

Fiction writing has absorbed my attention over the past few months, especially since I'm working on a children's chapter book that I plan to finish a first draft of by September. So I have considered writing on many topics in my blog, ranging from Mother Teresa, hedge fund managers and Jihad to the joys of Spring, the oil spill in the Gulf and the role of Christians in caring for the earth. But I let the feeling pass on all of those topics.

However, this week there was a topic I could no longer ignore. My thoughts crystallized yesterday as I was reading about the Old Testament "Law" for my Education for Ministry class. The rather comprehensive lesson broke down the structure and background of the laws and put them in context. Hospitality toward foreigners or strangers is mentioned several times. One law required Israelites to leave crops in the corners of their fields as charity for the poor, widows, orphans and travellers. As the lesson puts it, "because of Israel's experience as sojourners in Egypt, even resident foreigners were considered as covered by the covenant."

The obvious Hebrew examples involve Abraham traveling to Egypt when he and his clan were in need of water and food; then the tribes working for the Egyptians, and eventually becoming enslaved by them, because of their need for work, until Moses led them away. Parallel to that, the illegal immigrants in this country were often lured here for work, and effectively "enslaved" by low wages with no benefits as they sent money home to their families or tried to save enough to bring them here without endangering their lives. Many died in the desert carrying fliers inviting them to work on farms and ranches along the border.

Logically speaking, the Arizona law technically does nothing to stem illegal immigration as it is written. Everyone from Mexico knows that what they are doing is illegal, but they do it anyway. This is not a new issue, nor is it an issue that is unique to Arizona as a border state. The difference is that Mexicans have become a scapegoat in a down economy for the ills of the state -- which are many right now. Border towns have crime, but most of it is caused by drug smugglers, who will not be intimidated by this law.

The law, which goes into effect in July, has already had the impact of making Latinos who live in the state or elsewhere -- or anyone who plans to visit from another country -- feel unwelcome in Arizona. Even those who are legal are fearful of its law enforcement officers. Perception is reality, and the perception of a large number of people from across the United States and the world is that Arizona does not welcome anyone who looks like he or she might be an illegal immigrant. As a consequence, Arizona is a pariah state right now.

I have many more thoughts on the subject, which I will address in another blog entry.