"You shall not molest or oppress an alien, for you were once aliens yourselves in the land of Egypt. " Ex 22:20. Ex 22:20 is the first of many places in the bible where kind treatment of immigrants is commanded by God or his prophets. Tomorrow we will celebrate a feast that began when a group of illegal immigrants (I prefer undocumented worker because I have never head an undocumented worker call themselves an illegal immigrant, but they didn't have a document issuing authority back in the day) ran out of food in their new home. The legal and lawful residents of the place, the locals, the natives, whatever you want to call them, brought food to these poor immigrants. Together they broke bread and gave thanksgiving. This was the first amnesty for undocumented workers. Perhaps tomorrow, when we start our thanksgiving meal, we can remember all those immigrants working in the margins of America, in food processing, farm labor, the ...
A blog about life on the economic margins of America and the world. The writer will also share personal experiences,and comment on spiritual, economic, artistic and other matters including books, films and music. This blog is heavily influenced by the Catholic Workers Movement. Please share our posts and follow us by email or subscription.