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Faith in Action

The Blessings That We Refuse

By Donna Schaper
Statue of Liberty, Joshua Haviv / Shutterstock.com
Statue of Liberty, Joshua Haviv / Shutterstock.com
Mar 15, 2013
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Immigrants are a blessing, not a curse. They are assets, not deficits. I have learned this the hard way after seven years working with the New York City New Sanctuary Movement. We have accompanied 67 people on the verge of detention or deportation, and we have lost only three of them.

These people are restaurant owners — employers. Some run small high tech start-ups; others raise children on their own, grouping with other parents to take care of them. They live under the constant fear of disruption to their lives and constant trepidation about whether their children will be separated from them. Many have been picked up for small offenses, like traffic violations and gone to jail only to luckily be released. But they have still have shown resilient courage, that miracle of guts that keeps them going inside the constant fear and the constant harassment. Immigrants are spiritual and economic blessings, not curses. They are assets, not deficits.

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Statue of Liberty, Joshua Haviv / Shutterstock.com
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