BECOME AN ACTIVIST FOR HUMANE IMMIGRATION POLICY
Focus: An examination of current immigration policy and proposed legislation toward a more comprehensive policy.
Description: Participants in this study will learn about problems on the border, the impact of the South and Central American economies and globalization on immigration to the US. They will learn about the impact of immigrant workers on our economy including whether the immigrants fill jobs American workers will not fill, and how that affects wages.
Learn:
1. Identify the current legislation. What will it do?
2. Find out the number and impact of legal and undocumented workers in
your community (call the Hennepin County or State Planning Offices).
3. Find out what the issues are around amnesty or other ways for
undocumented workers to become American citizens.
4. Understand the impact of globalization on immigration. Learn about how
NAFTA and the World Bank have affected the small farmer in Third
World Countries.
5. Form a book group and read some of the books recommended on page 2.
6. Borrow the film “Crossing Arizona” from the church office and show it to
your family and friends.
7. Encourage your small group to study the issue.
8. Join the Resource Center of the Americas and read their newsletter which
Provides information about the latest issues in Central and South
American countries.
9. Borrow the notebook, “Sealing Our Borders” from the church library and
read the articles which address issues about the border, globalization, and
NAFTA.
10. Buy food from the coop, to support the small farmer.
11. Study the impact of racism on our country.
Reflect:
1. Form a Bible study group and reflect on Bible passages which require us
to care for our neighbors, the stranger, the poor and the oppressed, for
example:.
Exodus 22:21 You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt (similar verse in Exodus 23:9.
Deuteronomy 10:19 You shall also love the stranger, for you were
strangers in the land of Egypt.
Leviticus 19:10 You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather
the fallen grapes of your vineyard, ou shall leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the Lord your God.
Leviticus 19:33-34 When an alien resides with you in your land,
you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you
shall be to you as the citizen among you, you shall love the alien as
your self, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
Hebrews 13:1-2 Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show
hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained
angels without knowing it.
Matthew 25:34-40 “Then the king will say to those at his right
hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I
was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me
something to drink. , I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I
was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care
of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous
will answer him, “Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and
gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And
when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?”
And the king will answer them. “Truly I tell you, just as you did
it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you
did it to me.”
2. Journal about your experiences and share your point of view with our
congregation and others.
Act:
1. Write letters to your Representatives and Senators in support of
comprehensive federal legislation.
2. Take a trip to the border through Borderlinks or another experiential group
to understand first-hand what is happening on the border.
3. Call your state legislators and the governor about state legislation affecting
immigrants. Learn about the “Dream Act” and encourage its passage.
4. Have a simple rice and beans meal and give what you would have spent
for dinner to a non-profit helping immigrants.
5. Work on racism issues.
6. Refine globalization to include workers and the environment.
Share:
1. Write a prayer or poem about immigrants and share your work with
others.
2. Mentor or teach English to newcomers in our community.
3. Provide transportation to the doctor, school, etc. for new immigrants.
4. Fund non-profits working on the border to save immigrants from dying in
the desert.
Resources:
Adult Fiction
The Hummingbird’s Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea
Highwire Moon by Susan Straight
Prospero’s Daughter by Elizabeth Nunez
Saving the World by Julia Alverez
Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle (available in the St. Luke library)
Adult Non-fiction
Enrique’s Journey: The Story of a Boy’s Dangerous Odyssey to Reunite with his Mother by Sonia Nazario.
American Gulag - Inside US Immigration Prisons, by Mark Dow
Coyotes: A Journey through the Secret World of America’s Illegal Aliens, by
Ted Conover
Crossing Over: A Mexican Family on the Migrant Trail, by Ruben Martinez
Do They Hear You When You Cry, by Fauziya Fassindja
The Middle of Everywhere by Mary Piper
The Devil’s Highway, by Luis Alberto Urree. This book tells about 40 migrants who travel the Devil’s Highway to the US. Available in the St. Luke library.
Operation Gatekeeper
The Border Patrol Ate My Dust by Alicia Alarcon and Ethraim Cash Brammer.
Teenagers
“Sweet Fifteen” a movie available from Mary Turck available from the St. Luke Library.
The Color of My Words, by Lynn Joseph, 138 pages. A story about a young girl who wants to write. She helps her family and neighbors fight the taking of their land for a hotel and resort complex.
Movies:
“A Day without Mexicans” - depicts what would happen if undocumented workers are eliminated from the workforce.
“Crossing Arizona“, a full length documentary available through the St. Luke Church Office. A Sundance documentary depicting migrants coming through Arizona, the groups helping them as well as the point of view of the Minutemen and ranchers.
“De Nadia” - depicts the perilous journey of migrants from Central America as they travel through Mexico on trains.
“Farmingville”, The murders of two Mexican day labors in a Long Island town unmasking a new front line in border wars - suburbia.
“Los Babies”
“Balseros” This documentary follows the 1994 exodus of refugees from Cuba to Miami. The film-makers catch up, seven years later with a handful of refugees who were allowed into the US.
“Dying to Get In” available from Borderlinks or the St. Luke Library.
“A Day without a Mexican” available through Blockbuster or other video rental agency
“El Norte” available through Blockbuster or other video rental agency.
“Lost Boys of Sudan” - follows two Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America.
“Mojados through the Night” - this follows four men into the world of illegal border-crossing and the hardships they face.
“Romantico“ - a poetic film about the efforts of an undocumented alien to earn money on the streets of San Francisco.
“Up Rooted” - this film documents the experiences of three immigrants from Ecuador, Haiti, and the Philippines telling their own stories about being forced to immigrate because of globalization.
“Wal-Mart:The High Cost of Low Price” directed by Robert Greenwald.
“The Take”, directed by Avi Lewis.
“The City” (La Ciudad) - four short stories of loss, love, and frustration and hope as four people recently arrived in a large city struggle to build their lives.
Note: Almost all of these movies are available through Netflixs or Blockbuster. Com.