Myths and Realities in a Nation of Immigrants

On July 2nd, MVPJ, American Muslim Voice and KQED hosted an immigration forum. Read more about it here.

Myths and Realities in a Nation of Immigrants
A public forum to dispel myths, raise awareness, and humanize immigrant issues was held on Monday July 2, 2007 at First United Methodist Church in Palo Alto.

We shared prayers from our faith traditions, including this from the Quaker tradition:

As many have said, we are a nation of immigrants. I call to your attention a letter written by a prospective immigrant named William Penn to the native inhabitants of Pennsylvania, dated October 18, 1681:

My Friends:

There is one great God and power that hath made the world and all things therein, to whom you and I and all people owe their being and well-being, and to whom you and I must one day give an account for all that we do in the world; this great God hath written his law in our hearts, by which we are taught and commanded to love and help, and do good to one another, and not to do harm and mischief one unto another. Now this great God hath been pleased to make me concerned in your parts of the world, and the King of the country where I live hath given unto me a great province therein; but I desire to enjoy it with your love and consent, that we may always live together as neighbors and friends, else what would the great God say to us, who hath made us not to devour and destroy one another, but live soberly and kindly together in the world?

Penn was well aware of the conflicting interests of immigrants and those people native to the land.

Nothwithstanding the near-absolute power granted by the King of England, Penn promised that disputes would be settled by juries of “an equal number of just men on both sides.� The colonial government of Pennsylvania continued to offer later immigrants the same consideration asked by William Penn of the original inhabitants.

Let us all pray that our country's policies shall return to those espoused by William Penn: to treat each other with fairness and compassion, without either newcomer or native suffering at the other's hands. Let us, as Penn did, resolve to live justly, peaceably and friendly together.

-Eric Sabelman

reference: Catherine O. Peare, William Penn: A biography (Lippincott, 1956), pp. 223-224.

We heard this poem, written by a Jewish-American for the Statue of Liberty:

“The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!"” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

We heard from immigrants, immigrants-rights activists, public officials, and took questions from the audience.

Questions from the audience included:

1. What role does NAFTA have in creating the flow of immigrants into the United States?

2. Why does the United States subsidize agriculture, which ends up harming Mexican and other country's farming industries and families?

3. The world is over-populated. Homes in Palo Alto can't be bought by normal people any more. Global warming is destroying our planet. When do we say enough is enough to immigration?

4. I immigrated here when I was a child, worked hard in New York as a busboy, cab driver, you name it so I understand what it is like to be an immigrant. I don't mind people coming here now, but why do they have to try to "rearrange the furniture?"

We won't even attempt to capture all the incredible testimony we heard or the answers that came up to these questions here. We URGE you to attend future immigration forums so that you can hear the answers and discussions for yourself.

Right now you can see a powerful new video available from KQED which dispels some of the myths of Immigration Calculations. We watched part of this video during the forum. You can view that video online by clicking the link below:

Click this link

Finally, it is enlightening for you to read the reactions to the mere posting of this event on the Palo Alto Online web site. You will see both the compassion and the vitriol surrounding the issue of immigration.

Click here to visit the Palo Alto Weekly and see the comments