By Jim Fredette
From 1980 to 1984 our family lived in El Paso, Texas. I was the founding pastor of Desert View United Church of Christ on El Paso's growing east side. La Trinidad Congregational Church was one of our sister churches with about a half of its members living in El Paso and the other half in Juarez, Mexico. I learned a great deal from the members of La Trinidad including their affirmation that migrants -- like us – have hurts and hopes.
Undoubtedly a great deal has changed in the thirty seven years since we left El Paso. But I certainly believe that desperate people fleeing poverty, crime, homelessness, hunger, and even death will not be stopped by a border someone drew on a map.
Congress enacted the Immigration Reform and Control Act (also known as the Simpson-Mazzoli Act or the Reagan Amnesty) and President Ronald Reagan signed it into law in November 1986. Contrary to some who think they know the minds of “our founders,” laws need to change because change is inevitable.
The 1,954 miles border between the United States and Mexico traverses a variety of terrains, including urban areas and deserts. The border from the Gulf of Mexico to El Paso, Texas, follows along the Rio Grande which is about 328 feet at its widest point. In comparison, the Kansas (Kaw) River averages about 480 feet wide.
Juarez and El Paso have a symbiotic relationship; they need each other almost to survive as well as thrive. Both cities have work forces (both legal and illegal) that cross the border every day. During our years in El Paso, hundreds of undocumented construction workers came to El Paso daily to build new houses. Thousands of Mexican women cross the border each week to work as maids in El Paso homes. Many houses in Juarez are built with slivers of wood to frame cardboard walls. How many of us can imagine living in that kind of poverty?
What I cannot imagine is how El Paso can even begin to serve the needs of thousands of undocumented migrants. Texas Governor Abbott evidently takes pride in sending migrants to “democrat” cities. Shouldn't all fifty states take their fair share of migrants?
Some think they have easy solutions to the migrant crisis. Really? How in the world could a border wall stretching even a portion of the 1,954 miles stop desperate migrants? I've watched on live television as migrants climbed over Trump's wall.
What is the answer? I don't have one. But I know if my grandchildren were hungry, hurt, homeless and in danger of rape or death at the hands of the Cartels, I would do almost anything to help them. Congress has moral, ethical and national security reasons for passing immigration laws that are reasonable, rational, and compassionate...the sooner the better for all.
