Back in Part One of this editorial series, I included a quote from an engraved plaque installed in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty in 1883, from a poem by Emma Lazarus.
“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…”
A couple of Daily Post readers wrote to me, objecting to my use of this quote in a story about documented and undocumented immigrants, perhaps implying that things have changed since 1883.
Most certainly, things have changed since 1883. But they have also stayed the same. In 1883, many Americans were strenuously objecting to the arrival of immigrants… in particular, immigrants from Southern Europe: Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Bosnia, Romania. The issues around those particular immigrants, in 1883, were many. They didn’t speak English; they weren’t Protestants; they had distinctive Southern European complexions; they drank wine instead of beer… so many things that didn’t fit with America’s perception of itself.
While driving uptown on Friday, I passed a man standing at an intersection, holding up a cardboard sign — something that’s become more common in Pagosa these past few years. Usually, the panhandler’s message is something along the lines of: “Anything Helps. God Bless.”
In this case, the hand-lettered cardboard sign read, very simply:
John 3:16
I drove on by without making a monetary contribution, although it wasn’t clear whether he was actually panhandling… or merely reminding people in the passing cars that we live in a mostly-Christian nation and that we can have eternal life if we believe in Jesus Christ.
What does it mean, though, to “believe in Jesus Christ”?
Some Christians might say, we are born sinners, and Jesus redeemed us on the Cross — but only if we earnestly believe we are so redeemed.
Other Christians might say that “believing in Jesus Christ” means that we follow, as best we can, his teachings as shared in the Four Gospels (and perhaps, as amplified by the rest of the New Testament, with reference to the Old Testament.)
I mention ‘Christians’, because I believe all three of our County Commissioners would call themselves Christians. So it may be a matter of some concern, whether they are trying to follow Christ’s teachings, or not.
County Commissioner Warren Brown had offered up a draft resolution at the April 2 BOCC work session, that would, if adopted, declare Archuleta County to be a “Non-Sanctuary County” — meaning that we, as a community, will not welcome, or offer help to, homeless immigrants, if they happen to originate from south of the U.S. border.
The consensus around the table, and via Zoom, was that Archuleta County has been unable to solve the problems faced by its local residents — notably, the housing crisis — and an influx of immigrants would put a further strain on local resources.
Can a written resolution, telling immigrants they are not welcome, be part of a solution?
Commissioner Veronica Medina had suggested that Commissioner Brown’s resolution was merely a ‘feel good document’ with no practical effect — in part because the County’s hands are tied by state laws which, among other things, prevent the County Sheriff from arresting an undocumented immigrant purely on the basis of being undocumented.
Commissioner Brown responded to Commissioner Medina’s comment.
“If I may, I’d like to speak to the statement, that this is a ‘feel good document’. This doesn’t feel good to me. I don’t think it feels good to anyone else. This is not about a ‘feel good’. This is about an obligation, and a duty, of a County leader to protect the resources, and thereby protect the people who live here.
“It doesn’t feel good. It just feels necessary.”
Commissioner Ronnie Maez wondered if changes could be made to the resolution, to add some ‘teeth’ to the County’s position — some mechanism by which incoming migrants could actually be turned back.
Commissioner Medina:
“I’m definitely willing to give positive input on this document. I just… I’m struggling to find any positive input, because I don’t think, legally, there’s anything we can do. My conversation with Sheriff Le Roux this morning did give me some different perspectives, but again, I’m struggling with this.”
Commissioner Maez:
“We can hear from our constituents, too. They have our phone numbers; they have our email addresses. They can send us their opinions…
“Basically what we are seeing here, is what the whole Western Slope is seeing. We’re getting gutted by the Front Range…”
Sheriff Mike Le Roux:
“We absolutely are. And so, I think it’s important, as a group collectively, to stand up and say what we believe…”
Commissioner Maez:
“This resolution… I mean, if they’re here illegally, they’re here illegally. That’s just the bottom line with me. I think everybody has the right to migrate to the United States, but there’s a process, and I think you need to go through that process.
“Maybe there’s something creative we can come up with.”
Commissioner Maez asked the Sheriff to learn more about how Fremont County had successfully refused to welcome four busloads of immigrants.
Following the meeting, I was asked my opinion of the discussion, and I confessed that I’d found myself thinking about some teachings in the Bible… in particular, Matthew Chapter 25, wherein Jesus shares a parable about “inheriting the kingdom”.
Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who 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 drink; I was a stranger and you welcomed me…
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you?…
And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
Something to ponder, sitting in our nice warm homes on a cold winter day.