Connections+-+ZMAA

[] Connections: This issue has always been very important to me, especially coming from both an Anglo American and Mexican background. I have always heard stories from my mother and grandmother what it was like to grow up looking like a Mexican and I’ve heard stories about my great-grandparents’ trips to Mexico to their hometowns, so I had a sense of what it has been like for them to be different physically and culturally from the Anglo majority. I have also had experiences of my own, namely racism and prejudice that have confirmed my belief of the importance of this issue. I did not realize, however; the full desperation that many of these migrants (both legal and illegal) feel and their fervent wish to live in the United States. //Crossing Over// and //The Devil’s Highway// have definitely put their situation in perspective for me. While I do believe that there should be laws regarding immigration, as a Christian and as a Mexican American descendant, I think that we should not completely close up the borders and prevent immigrants from entering at all even if they are legal. As a Christian, there is little reason to prevent a stranger from entering my country. Hebrews 13:2 says “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by this some have entertained angels without knowing it.” I recognize that not all immigrants that enter the United States are “angels,” but I think that Christians also have a responsibility to show them love, kindness and understanding.