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Opinion | Michigan: Don’t remain silent on treatment of our immigrant neighbors
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As a person of faith, I deeply believe in the teaching of Jesus that “whatever you do to the least of these, you do unto me.” In addition, my Catholic faith commands me to welcome and care for the marginalized, including immigrants, and to welcome them.
This compels me to consider our nation’s inhumane treatment of immigrants in recent months. Their humanity and dignity are routinely violated. As a member of the Michigan NETWORK Advocates Team, an affiliate of the national NETWORK organization, I was honored to help lead a recent Interfaith Prayer Walk for Immigrants in Lansing. Catholics, Protestants, Jews, Muslims and others walked together to show solidarity and public support of our immigrant neighbors, such a beautiful sight!
In Michigan, nearly 8% of our population are immigrants, according to USAFacts. Foreign-born workers are a vital part of the state economy with 60% of population growth over the past decade due to immigration, the American Immigration Council reports.
The crackdown on undocumented immigrants has been far too broad, too aggressive, too cruel, catching mostly technical rule violators rather than violent criminals, with far too many mistakes, while ignoring the basic principles of democracy and freedom cherished by our country — founded as a nation of immigrants. It is horrifying to see images of immigrants being shackled and chained and herded on to planes for deportation.
And just north of Lansing, Michigan holds the largest detention center for immigrants in the Midwest, a private prison in Baldwin, with reported poor conditions, inhumane treatment and lack of medical care.
As we see and hear story after story of immigrants forcefully taken from their families, jobs, homes and communities often for minor infractions, and placed in horrible conditions in detention facilities, sometimes for months, we must step up to support and continue to speak out for them.
We cannot remain silent.
Despite our calls to reject additional funding, Congress, on a partisan basis, passed an additional $70 billion in funding for ICE. The bill included no reforms, accountability, or oversight, promoting the continuation of the injustices we have witnessed, as well as demonstrating misplaced priorities, as families continue to struggle to secure basic needs. We must continue to urge Congress to prioritize spending of our tax dollars on programs that promote the common good by helping struggling families, obtain services they need – affordable health care, housing and food assistance, and that do not tear families and communities apart.
Immigrants are integrated into our lives — they are our friends, our neighbors, our children’s classmates, our college students, our coworkers, and members of our congregations. They are workers who fix our homes, provide medical care, cook in our restaurants and offer care for our elderly and those near the end of their lives.
They are our neighbors and our friends.
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