Charity is no substitute for justice withheld

Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.
- St. Augustine

A visit to a Kansas congressional office in Washington, D.C. in March to lobby for immigration reform brought this idea home from St. Augustine. This representative (who is also now running for higher office in Kansas) has voted previously 1) to criminalize immigration violations, including visa overstays; 2) to take away birthright citizenship by being born in the U.S.; 3) against the Dream Act; and 4) for just about any other anti-immigrant legislation ever proposed.

Yet, in his office he was surprisingly warm and engaging (perhaps not so surprisingly considering he is an elected official). He seemed sympathetic.

“These are mostly good people,” he said. “But it’s a very complicated issue and there are no easy solutions.”

And then came the cop out.

“But we are a very generous country.”

Not that he had any intention of advocating any kind of generous position going forward. It seems like whenever someone is about to advocate a heartless position, utterly lacking in compassion or grace, they start talking about how generous we are as a country.

After all, we admit a handful of refugees every year, etc. So whatever failings we might have in compassion and justice, it’s all o.k., because, after all, we are “generous.”

Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.
- St. Augustine
I have to say this is true. People will put up with a lot of poverty and hardship. But injustice? No.

Is the failure to consider immigration reform a lack of charity, or a lack of justice? It is unjust to reap the fruits of people’s labors, and not dignify them with status. It is unjust to exact punishment, such as permanent banishment from home and family, for minor immigration infractions. It is unjust to abuse workers with impunity because they are powerless and without status. It is unjust for honest employers to have no legal options to recruit foreign workers when no U.S. workers are available. It is unjust for asylum seekers to be detained indefinitely, then deported to a country where they face persecution without the opportunity to see a judge. It is unjust for family members to have to wait decades to join their relatives in the U.S. It is unjust for foreign professionals to wait for years and years to fight their way through the legal green card process only to be denied because of a lost job or minor immigration status violation. It is unjust for hard working compassionate immigrants, documented or not, to be labeled as criminals and vilified by persons whose only claim to superiority is the accident of their birth in the U.S. I could go on.

Charity is no substitute for justice withheld.
- St. Augustine