May Day, traditionally celebrated the end of the cold long winter nights and ushered in spring with big parties, is now celebrated as International Workers Day as well. The first Sunday in May, May 1st, has been designated Immigrant Rights Sunday within the United Church of Christ.  Justice and Witness Ministries and Wider Church Ministries are urging congregations to lift up immigrants on this day: to learn about their concerns, honor their contributions to our country and communities, hear their pain, pray for their well-being, and listen to hear where God is leading us regarding issues of immigration.

To watch the UCC video Behind the Wall click here, it’s documentary produced by Rev. Art Cribbs and funded by a NIN grant of Justice and Witness Ministries. Behind the Wall is a film exploring the Mexican people, culture, and the causes and effects of migration.

Caught in Legal Limbo

One story tells of two brothers, Benigno and Ronald, who find themselves caught in a legal limbo as they seek to make it through the maze of immigration bureaucracy.

Brought to the United States from Guatemala by their mother as small children, they are now 24 and 28 years old.  When their mother became a legal resident through marriage, she petitioned for her sons to become residents as well.  Unfortunately, they sought help from a Notario, who charged them a few thousand dollars to do the paper work. 

There are many unscrupulous individuals who engage in the unauthorized practice of immigration law and leave their clients hopeless and helpless.  In this case, Benigno and Ronald “think” they may have petitions pending.  For unmarried children of a legal resident from Guatemala, however, it may take up to 7 years for visas to become available for them to achieve their dream.

Wishing to marry, Benigno has postponed doing so because he knows the laws are different for married and unmarried children of permanent residents. Both these young men have no experience of living in Guatemala and if forced to leave, they would be fish out of water.

They have been raised in this country and educated here. They are fully bilingual. Their story is repeated time and again with children who, by no decision of their own, find themselves in legal limbo.

Immigration Sunday is intended to help us overcome our fears about the strangers among us, and to work on their behalf to make life safer in the United States.  Promoting draconian policies and militarizing our borders do not protect or serve anyone’s best interests.  Too many families have been divided and too many lives have been lost because our country has failed to properly address the needs of immigrants.  It is time for us to honor God’s instruction to feed, clothe, and love “those who are strangers, because you yourselves were strangers…”

As we learn the stories of others, we can reflect upon our own families’ journeys to America.  We can remember what it felt like to be received or rejected in a new land.  Then, we will discover the practical reasons why God instructed us to take care of immigrants, foreigners, and strangers.

Nobody should be left alone in legal limbo or fall prey to individuals, systems, or institutions that abuse them and deny their human dignity.  If we forget our own experiences, we may mistreat others who are going through what we once knew to be a frightening and unwelcoming period in our lives.

We can do better to make God’s entire family feel welcome.  Hospitality is a hallmark of our faith.  Every human life is precious and the ‘loving image of God.’

This invitation to participate in Immigration Rights Sunday comes from Rev. Art Cribbs, San Marino Congregational Church, UCC, in San Marino, Calif., and Rev. Dan Romero, Conference Minister (retired), Southern California/Nevada Conference, UCC.