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Explore the history of immigration in the USA from 1960-2060 and learn about the challenges and contributions of immigrants throughout the years.
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Welcoming the Stranger: Jenny Yang @JennyYangWR Vice President of Advocacy and Policy, World Relief
Welcoming the Stranger: Do I Have My Facts Right? @JennyYangWR Immigrants Have Always Been Simultaneously Welcomed and Scorned Why should [immigrants] establish their Language and Manners to the Exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens who will shortly be so numerous as to [change] us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our complexion? — Benjamin Franklin, 1751, referring to the German immigrants “invading” Pennsylvania The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions, whom we shall welcome to participate to all of our rights and privileges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the employment. — George Washington, 1783, addressing a group of Irish immigrants Graphic courtesy of the Pew Hispanic Forum, 2006
First great wave 1820-1860 Mostly Irish and German immigrants fleeing famine and failed coups
National Origins Quota Act of 1924 • Closed off most immigration to the United States for four decades, except for from Western Hemisphere • Exclusion of Japanese immigrants (all Asians) • Exclusion of Southern and Eastern Europe (Jews, Italians, Greek, etc.) • First requirement for a visa to enter the U.S.
Immigration and nationality act of 1965 • Eliminated national origin, race, and ancestry as basis for immigration. • Priority based on family and work skills. • For the first time, immigration from the Western Hemisphere was limited. • Refugees were given the seventh and last category preference with the possibility of adjusting their status.
Welcoming the Stranger: Do I Have My Facts Right? @JennyYangWR Who Are These People? • Immigrants are anyone born in one country but now living in another • There are about 37 million immigrants currently living in the U.S., representing about 12% of the total US population • Of those, approximately • 35% are naturalized citizens • 33% are Lawful Permanent Residents • 2% are in temporary legal status • 31% are present unlawfully
Welcoming the Stranger: Do I Have My Facts Right? @JennyYangWR Avenues for Immigration to the US • Family-based Immigration • 480,000 a year • Employment-based Immigration • 140,000 a year • Diversity Lottery Visa • 50,000 a year (11 million people entered lottery) • Odds at 227 to 1 • Refugees and Asylum Seekers • 85,000 last year
Refugee Resettlement @JennyYangWR Facts about US Refugee Resettlement: • 1. Most refugees will never be resettled to a third country. • A refugee cannot choose to be resettled. • Refugee resettlement is the most rigorous way for someone to enter • the United States. • 4. The entire resettlement process takes on average 1.5 - 2 years. • More than 3 million refugees have been resettled in the United States • since 1980. • Since 1980, the average refugee admissions level has been 95,000. • The US resettles less than half of 1% of the world’s refugees.
Welcoming the Stranger: Do I Have My Facts Right? @JennyYangWR Who Are Undocumented Immigrants? • According to Department of Homeland Security statistics, there were 10.8 million undocumented immigrants living in the US as of January 2009 • Between 40% and 50% of undocumented immigrants entered lawfully, with a non-immigrant visa, but then overstayed; the rest crossed a border illegally
Welcoming the Stranger: Do I Have My Facts Right? @JennyYangWR Who Are Undocumented Immigrants? • Most come from Latin America, but there are also millions of undocumented Asians, Europeans, and Canadians • 1 in 5 Korean Immigrants is Undocumented • 1 in 6 Filipino Immigrants is Undocumented • 1 in 8 Asian Indian Immigrants is Undocumented Graphic courtesy of the Pew Hispanic Forum, 2006
Welcoming the Stranger: Do I Have My Facts Right? @JennyYangWR Why Don’t They Just Wait Their Turn In Line, Just Like My Ancestors? • Myth: Immigrants today are different than those of past generations who came the legal way • Fact: Our federal immigration laws have changed dramatically, such that there is presently no line to get into to migrate legally for many would-be immigrants • Prior to 1882, there was no illegal immigration because there was no federal immigration law • Even through Ellis Island—from 1892 to 1924—98% of immigrants were admitted and there was no requirement of a visa • Now, lawful immigration is tightly limited by law and usually possible only for: • Close relatives of US citizens or Lawful Permanent Residents (sometimes with long backlogs) • Limited numbers of highly-educated employer-sponsored immigrants • A fraction of one percent of the world’s refugees, fleeing persecution (not fleeing poverty) • Winners of an online lottery (odds about 1 in 300), but only for certain countries
Welcoming the Stranger: Do I Have My Facts Right? @JennyYangWR What Are Some Common Myths and Misunderstandings about Immigration? • Myth: Undocumented Immigrants do not pay taxes • Fact: The Social Security Administration estimates that 3 out of 4 undocumented immigrants have payroll, Social Security, and Medicare taxes deducted from their paychecks. • The Social Security Administration has received as much as $12 billion per year in recent years in withholdings that do not match a valid Social Security number, mostly from undocumented immigrants • But they are ineligible to benefit from Social Security or Medicare, and from almost all public benefits and services
Welcoming the Stranger: Do I Have My Facts Right? @JennyYangWR What Are Some Common Myths and Misunderstandings about Immigration? • Myth: Immigrants are not integrating into our society • Fact: Immigrants bring strong values and integrate into our communities • As compared to native-born US citizens, Hispanic immigrants are: • More likely to attend church on a weekly basis • More likely to be married and less likely to get divorced • Immigrants tend to have a very strong work ethic, with labor participation rates amongst undocumented adult males of 96% • Immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than native-born US citizens, and are significantly less likely to be imprisoned • As has always been the case with immigrants to the US, immigrants are striving to learnEnglish; by the second-generation, 88% of Hispanic immigrants are fluent
Welcoming the Stranger: How Should the Government Respond? @JennyYangWR How Could Our Legislators Respond? • Make it harder to immigrate or work illegally • By investing in border security and creating an enforceable workplace authorization system • Make it easier to enter and work lawfully • Create legal channels for lawful migration that correlate to the needs of the economy for both high- and low-skilled workers • Reduce backlogs for family reunification and ensure that families are able to stay unified • Require and allow those unlawfully present to get right with the law: • Undergo a criminal background check • Those with serious criminal offenses would be deported • The rest would be required to pay a fine for having entered or overstayed unlawfully, then be placed in a probationary legal status and be allowed to earn their way toward full citizenship and integration
Welcoming the Stranger: Am I Thinking about This Issue as A Christian? @JennyYangWR Am I Thinking about This Issue As a Christian? • Three Reasons that Christ-Followers Need to Care • It is a Biblical Issue • It is a Church Issue • It is a Missional Issue
Welcoming the Stranger: Am I Thinking about This Issue as A Christian? @JennyYangWR A Biblical Issue • God has a Special Concern for the Immigrant • Ger, the Hebrew word closest to “immigrant” in English, appears 92 times in the Old Testament • Immigrants are afforded equal treatment in God’s Law • “The same law applies to the native-born and to the alien [ger] living among you.” (Exodus 12:49) • God’s Law for the Israelites mandated that the native-born and the immigrant be treated equally, with the same rights and responsibilities
Welcoming the Stranger: Am I Thinking about This Issue as A Christian? @JennyYangWR A Biblical Issue • God Not Only Loves Immigrants, He Legislated Rules to Ensure that Their Needs Were Met • “When you are harvesting in your field and you overlook a sheaf, do not go back to get it. Leave it for the alien, the fatherless and the widow, so that the LORD your God may bless you in all the work of your hands. When you beat the olives from your trees, do not go over the branches a second time. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow. When you harvest the grapes in your vineyard, do not go over the vines again. Leave what remains for the alien, the fatherless and the widow.” (Deuteronomy 24:19-21)
Welcoming the Stranger: Am I Thinking about This Issue as A Christian? @JennyYangWR A Missional Opportunity • Jesus commands us to “make disciples of every nation” (Matthew 28:19) • With immigration, the nations arrive at our doorstep, representing an enormous missional opportunity • Many are already strong believers, who become agents of mission within their own ethnic communities and beyond • Others arrive with a nominal faith or from entirely unreached people groups and are much more open to the gospel than they might be in their home country • The movements of peoples are part of God’s sovereign plan to draw people to Himself • “From one man [God] made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him.” (Acts 17:26-27)
Welcoming the Stranger: Am I Thinking about This Issue as A Christian? @JennyYangWR An Issue for the Church How Many Churches Are There in This City? • Biblically, there is one Church— “one Body, one Spirit, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.” (Ephesians 4:4-6) • Each part of the Body is interdependent on each other part, so no part can say to another part that it is unneeded (1 Corinthian 12:14-25) • Whether we see it or not in our own local church, immigrants are a large and ever-growing element of evangelical churches in the United States • In fact, research by Dr. Todd Johnson at Gordon-Conwell Seminary suggests that immigrant congregations are the fastest growing segment of evangelical churches in the U.S.
Four Models of Acculturation Maintain culture? Yes No • Two key questions: • Do newcomers wantand are they allowedto be a part of the new community, connected to other groups? • Do they want and are they allowedto maintain their cultural identity and characteristics? • (adapted from Berry, Trimble, and Olmedo, “Assessment of Acculturation,” 1986) Yes Part of new community? No
Thinking Biblically about Integration “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he… has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility.” (Ephesians 2:13-14) “Love your neighbor as yourself… When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself…” (Leviticus 19:18, 33-34 NIV) “Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.” (Ephesians 2:19-20 NIV) Adapted from Soong-Chan Rah, Many Colors: Cultural Intelligence for a Changing Church (Moody Publishers, 2010)
Welcoming the Stranger: Am I Thinking about This Issue as A Christian? @JennyYangWR A Missional Issue • Two Possible Responses to Immigrants • The Pharaoh of Joseph’s Time (Genesis 41-47) • Recognized that an immigrant—Joseph—could bring opportunity and blessing to his land (Genesis 41) • Responded with welcome, offering the best of the land (Genesis 47:6) • The Pharaoh of Moses’ Time (Exodus 1-2) • Saw immigrants as a threat to be feared (Exodus 1:9) • Benefited from immigrants’ labor while despising them as people (Exodus 1:11-14) • Eventually decided that some would have to go—instigating a genocide of male Israelite babies (Exodus 1:22) • But some of the immigrants subverted the law (Exodus 2) and resorted to deception
Welcoming the Stranger: How Should I Respond? @JennyYangWR How Should I Respond? • Prayer • Listening • Education • Advocacy • Service • Evangelism
Welcoming the Stranger: How Should I Respond? @JennyYangWR How Should I Respond? • Prayer and Listening • Scripture tells us to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) – so prayer should be at the beginning, middle, and end of our engagement with this issue • We are called to pray “for kings and all those in authority.” (1 Timothy 2:1-2) • We need, first and foremost, to listen to what Scripture has to say that relates to how we interact with immigrants. • There are also many books and other resources to help us understand this issue better • We also need to listen to our immigrant brothers and sisters to really understand this issue
Welcoming the Stranger: How Should I Respond? @JennyYangWR How Should I Respond? Prayer & Listening • “I Was a Stranger…” Challenge • For 40 consecutive days, commit to prayer and to reading one • Scripture passage per day about God’s heart for immigrants. • More info can be found on www.G92.org • Mobilize your campus/church to do the same!
Welcoming the Stranger: How Should I Respond? @JennyYangWR How Should I Respond? Education • Encourage your local church to get involved. • Dedicate a Sunday School class, missions conference, or Sunday sermon to looking at immigration in Scripture • The “Welcoming the Stranger” Learning Group guide, available at www.welcomingthestranger.com, is a great tool for small groups or Adult Education Classes • Includes 9 sessions focused Scripture, mission, undocumented immigrants, refugees, and foreign-born victims of human trafficking, among other topics
Welcoming the Stranger: How Should I Respond? @JennyYangWR How Should I Respond? • Advocacy • There are plenty of important ways that we should love our neighbors on an interpersonal level—that’s most of the missional work we do • But when systemic injustice is at the root of a problem, loving our neighbor means advocacy as well • “On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” (Martin Luther King, Jr., April 1967)
Elevating a Christian conscience on refugees. We need to change the narrative around who refugees are and who we are as followers of Christ. “On the one hand, we are called to play the Good Samaritan on life's roadside, but that will be only an initial act. One day we must come to see that the whole Jericho Road must be transformed so that men and women will not be constantly beaten and robbed as they make their journey on life's highway. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.” Martin Luther King, Jr., April 1967
Over 6,000 church leaders from across the US have signed an open letter in support of refugees, including: • Bryant Wright • Max Lucado • Tim and Kathy Keller • Bill and Lynne Hybels • Derwin Gray • Daniel Akin • Eugene Cho • John Perkins • Brenda Salter McNeil
Welcoming the Stranger: How Should I Respond? @JennyYangWR How Should I Respond? • Service • While immigrants are a diverse group economically, many are among the poorest people are in society, with many human needs • You could get involved by volunteering • Serve as an ESL tutor or a “friendship partner” for a newly arrived refugee • Help immigrants fill out paperwork for naturalization at church-based citizenship workshops • Evangelism • As we befriend, serve, and advocate with immigrants, we have the opportunity to share the gospel, the good news of a transformative relationship with Jesus Christ
Welcoming the Stranger: How Should I Respond? @JennyYangWR How Should I Respond? • Go Deeper - Websites • G92.org– regularly updated blog, basic info on immigration, films, experiences, conference info & registration, & more • WelcomingTheStranger.com– includes 9-session Learning Group guide for free download or purchase • EvangelicalImmigrationTable.com– includes an Evangelical Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform signed by many prominent Christian leaders
Welcoming the Stranger: How Can I Learn More? @JennyYangWR How Can I Learn More? • Books • Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate by Matthew Soerens & Jenny Hwang (InterVarsity Press, 2009) • Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible by Daniel Carroll (Baker, 2008)
Jenny Yang jyang@wr.org Twitter: @JennyYangWR
