This Franciscan sister and immigration attorney shares lessons from St. Francis of Assisi that can help fix our broken immigration system.
Immigration has been in the news. Migration of peoples is a global concern as war, food shortages, joblessness, and climate change cause hundreds of thousands of people to leave their countries of origin to reach secure sanctuaries. The increased illegal border crossings here in the United States have led to a call for more border security.
Some people stereotype immigrants as criminals, rapists, and murderers, but the majority of immigrants are good people fleeing economic poverty or threats to their lives and those of their families. Most immigrants are merely hoping for a better life. What insights might St. Francis of Assisi have regarding immigration today?
From his writings, we know that St. Francis experienced the love of a generous, self-giving God and wished to imitate that love of God in his following of Christ. Although St. Francis is revered for his love of animals and of all creatures, his life and teachings call us to do more. In his Earlier Rule, Francis exhorts his followers to love all persons as brothers and sisters in Christ and to live a life of poverty in imitation of the poor Christ. Let us see how these two key ingredients of Francis’ spirituality broaden our understanding of the reality of immigration in society today.
Inherent Dignity
First, St. Francis’ love of God overflowed in his love for each person, whom he saw as a brother or sister in Christ. Francis believed in the dignity of each person, which was not contingent on rank, wealth, or nobility at birth. He sought to live among the poor and the powerless, in whom he found an image of the poor Christ. In his first Rule, Francis writes to his friars:
“Whoever comes to them, friend or foe, thief or robber, let him be received with kindness. . . . They must rejoice when they live among people considered of little value and looked down upon, among the poor and the powerless, the sick and the lepers, and the beggars by the wayside.”
That the friars were to serve the poor in humility was a testimony to the dignity the poor have as children of God and brothers and sisters in Christ.
Today’s immigrants and refugees are some of the poorest and most vulnerable of society. Often looked down upon by those who wield power, they are seen as a burden on society. Yet, as followers of Francis, we see in them our brothers and sisters who are to be treated with the kindness and respect that human beings deserve. Why else would people give of their goods, their time, and their resources to help feed and clothe these poor if not for the love of the poor Christ? Not only at the borders, but in shelters, food banks, towns, and cities, people throughout the United States give of their time, their money, and themselves to help immigrants in the Franciscan (and Catholic) tradition and at the urging of Pope Francis.
Yet the United States legal system is quite harsh toward migrants. The border is inaccessible to most, and few of those who enter the United States will find legal remedies to stay. The asylum process is lengthy, and applicants must wait for six months before receiving permission to work, even though they and their families have to eat. Requisites in asylum law exclude most who come to the United States seeking relief from dire poverty or gang threats because poverty and crime are not an accepted basis for asylum. Nor will those who come to earn money in support of families in their countries of origin be granted asylum. Recent executive action has made attaining asylum status even less available.
Other factors, including the lack of knowledge of English and the high cost of attorney fees, which can begin at $10,000, greatly impede immigrants’ chances of remaining in the United States. Yet these are human beings created in the image of God. How should we as Franciscans and followers of Francis view and treat these individuals who are feared and seen by many as a burden on society? If Francis were alive today, he would surely be among them.
Poverty and Power
St. Francis is also known to have lived a life of absolute poverty—something that would be unreasonable in today’s society. But Francis also recognized that human persons have needs. In his Earlier Rule, he exhorts the friars:
“Let all . . . strive to follow the humility and poverty of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and let them remember that we should have nothing else in the whole world except, as the apostle says: Having food and clothing, we are content with these.”
Francis would not allow the friars to receive money—only goods. Francis equated money with power; the aristocracy accumulated wealth to retain their powerful status. On the contrary, the goods the friars received were to be shared in order to provide for the needs of each one. As the Franciscan understanding of poverty developed in the burgeoning medieval market economy, it was the accumulation of wealth for one’s own benefit, the hoarding of wealth, that failed against poverty. The free-flowing exchange of goods that money in the market economy accomplished was good for the community in the growing cities. It allowed the people who no longer lived on the land to get what they needed to live and provide for their families.
It is interesting that the Franciscans were instrumental in developing the market economy of the 13th and 14th centuries. Poverty was intertwined with minority so that the market economy was based not on competition, but on solidarity in the community. The sharing in the market economy helped the people to grow and the cities to flourish. It bolstered the common good. The worker could use the money he earned to obtain the goods that he needed, just as workers do today.
In today’s market economy, many immigrant communities follow this Franciscan design where cooperation, not competition, unites people in a wholesome way. Many studies and articles have demonstrated that immigrants bolster the economies of the towns and cities where they work. Their solidarity increases the common good for the overall community and brings about a communal aspect where even those living in poverty are cared for. Immigrants creatively respond to the needs around them, and in this way provide for their families as well as the whole community in a way that ensures a more stable, lasting, and just foundation for human security and well-being.
Yet permission to work is not easy to obtain if one does not have a pathway to remain in the United States. Asylum applicants must wait for at least 150 days before even applying for this permission. Many immigrants who have lived in the United States for years are unable to apply for any remedy as a punishment for having entered or reentered without permission. Migrants who came here as children and who are now adult US citizens cannot apply for their parents because they would then be barred for years at a consulate for a long-ago illegal (re)entrance into the United States. This harsh immigration provision punishes what is seen as a willful violation of the law while, at the time, the arriving immigrants were simply looking for work to provide for their families.
At the same time, employers in the service and construction areas lament the lack of workers. Roofers and construction workers are needed, as well as those who work in hospitality, restaurants, and caregiving. Facilities for the elderly and day care centers are closing for lack of workers, who may be at hand but unable to apply. Many immigrants seek to be paid for work “under the table” since, as we all know, food and shelter are needed to live.
The Franciscan Way and the Common Good
If work, in the Franciscan tradition, was a way to promote the common good, would it not be advisable to allow immigrants the opportunity to work? Could not immigration law be mitigated to forgive entries or reentries that were not blatant violations of the law, but merely the effort to provide for families and loved ones?
Is it not in our common interest here in the United States to allow persons who have been here for many years, who have worked and obeyed the laws, who have paid taxes and Social Security, and who have fostered family ties and built wholesome communities, to have the opportunity to remain here legally and honorably?
Immigration law is complex, as is our immigration situation today. There is no easy remedy that will resolve our immigration system, as there is no easy solution for the complex causes of migration. But there is need for a Franciscan stance that can mitigate the harshness of our country’s immigration laws. It is my hope that the Franciscan tradition helps shine a light on the path forward for work in immigration—a calling that is deeply tied to our identity and vocation as Franciscans today.
1 thought on “I’d Like to Say: What If Our Immigration System Had a Franciscan Heart? ”
Very wise words