Monday, XIX Week of Ordinary Time
(Deuteronomy 10 and Matthew 17)
The first reading and the gospel today present different ways of viewing the issue of illegal immigration. In Deuteronomy Moses exhorts the people to look kindly upon aliens since they were aliens in Egypt when God took compassion on them. The gospel portrays Jesus as a law-abider even though he as much as anyone is a citizen of heaven and almost an alien on earth. He did not evade the Temple tax but paid it outright. Aliens, some will rush to conclude, should likewise not flout the laws of the country in which they find themselves, even the laws that prohibit them from being there.
So then what should our attitude toward the undocumented be? First, it might be added that this is a global problem. European countries are expelling undocumented aliens just like the United States. Even poor nations deport people from still poorer economies as they try to protect jobs for their own citizens. Governments have that responsibility, and they should not be criticized as heartless for carrying it out.
Yet Moses’ admonition to care for the alien still stands. At least this means that an undocumented person must be treated with human dignity. He or she should not be abused physically and should be afforded some kind of legal process to determine legal status. Also, when the undocumented are in urgent need, people must be allowed to give them assistance without fear of government reprisal. In establishing a policy toward immigrants governments will want to assure the welfare of its own people but this generally includes provision of opportunities for others.
