Immigrants

I was reading the Spring edition of Insights, a publication of Austin Seminary. The theme of this edition is Immigration. Claudio Carvalhaes, professor worship and preaching at Louisville Presbyterian Seminary, wrote an article about the borders of the U.S. and Mexico. He knows something about the subject, since he is an immigrant from Brazil. He is also an ordained Presbyterian minister with a Ph.D. from Union Seminary in New York.

He challenges many of the myths about immigration. He writes:

1. Immigrants do not take our jobs. Rather, they create jobs because they perform many tasks that employers require and this allows for businesses to grow.

2. Immigrants do not drain our economy. In fact, they revive local economies and the country's economy gains $22 billion dollars per year from immigrant workers, which makes Latino immigrants more of a benefit than a problem.

3. Immigrants do not threaten American culture. In most cases, immigrants bring a wealth of wisdom that enriches American culture instead of destroying it. And by the third generation, almost every person speaks English.

4. Immigrants do not bring disease. In fact, many immigrants are healthier than U.S. citizens, and since they are so afraid of being caught by the police, most live hidden lives.


Claudio recommends watching the movie "Romantico" at

www.meteorfilms.org

Exodus 23.9 -- "You shall not oppress a foreigner; you know the heart of a foreigner, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt."

We were all foreigners in America at one time.