Stories about immigration told to members of Trinity Mennonite Church in Phoenix, Ariz.

A young couple in a car had their two little girls asleep in their car seats in the back. The mother and both children are citizens. The father was brought to the United States as a child, attended school here and works here but has no documentation. An officer pulled them over and asked for licenses, registration and insurance. The father could not get a license in Arizona. They gave the officer all the other documentation, and he went back to the patrol car. He returned and told them the father would be jailed, the car would be impounded and a licensed driver would have to pick it up. The mother asked if he could please tell them why he stopped them. He said, “The light on your license plate is out.” Then he noticed the kids in the back and shone his light on them. He threw the license and insurance papers at them and shouted, “Don’t you know you guys aren’t supposed to be driving?” Then he drove off. They sat there a long time, and when they were sure he wasn’t coming back, she got out of the car to look. The light on their license plate was on.

Following are statements from leaders of Unidos de Gracia (the Hispanic church that meets at Trinity Mennonite on Wednesday evenings and Sunday afternoons) during a conversation with Hal Shrader and Ron Faus:

State Senate bill (SB) 1070 is having a great impact on people with whom we minister. When Sheriff Joe visits one of our communities, our people, whether documented or undocumented, are afraid to leave the house. They don’t go to work or come to church. We view this as a grave situation, like that faced in earlier times by Jews and blacks … an issue of oppression and dignity.

The following stories were told to a participant at Trinity Mennonite:

I asked someone in the extended family of one of my clients to help me pick up a large outdoor table I had purchased. As we visited, he said he had worked for 30 years for the same employer in Arizona. Now he doesn’t know what to do or how to provide for his family. Lots of his friends have left for other states. He doesn’t know anyone in Mexico, and all members of his extended family are here.

I was talking to a colleague about the effects of the bill on families I was seeing. She said they had adopted a little boy from Guatemala, thinking that Arizona would be a good place to raise him. Now they’re not so sure. She said, Do you think I need to carry his adoption papers everywhere he goes? The answer is yes, since it would be required in SB 1070.

Do you know it is a crime to transport an illegal immigrant, with a fine of $1,000? And they can impound your vehicle for 30 days? Churches, charities and unsuspecting people are not exempt. Many charities have complained they will be unable to do their work, including taking people to doctor’s appointments. If you pick up your son or daughter’s friends, give someone a ride to church or drive kids to church camp, you may be committing a state crime without knowing it. There are many illegal aliens, including people from Canada, Ireland, England and other European nations who became illegal by staying after their visas expired. How will you know? Will you avoid transporting kids who have brown skin because you are worried about possibly committing a crime? What about people with a foreign accent? Will parents discourage their children from being friends with people of color or those with a foreign accent? Will such actions teach racism to the new generation? When children are ill, can parents take the child to the emergency room without fear of being separated from their children (by being deported)? How many children will die at home because their parents are too afraid? What could we do to increase the crime rate more than prevent honest people from working, going to school or church or going to a doctor?

It is sad that this state is so racist. It’s affected me, family members and friends in such a dramatic way. It’s hard to say we can’t even go out to stores without getting weird looks because of the color of our skin. … Some people were brought here without their consent because they were just kids when they arrived in the United States. They didn’t have a choice; their parents brought them here to live a better life. Now, because of their parents’ mistakes, they have to pay for it? That’s unfair to them. I have family members and friends who are illegal in this country, but I can say they are not criminals. They work hard, pay their taxes and do the dirty work while getting underpaid. I agree we should punish the criminals who are killing or dealing with drugs. But why go after those who are good and work hard to raise their families and give them the opportunity they don’t have in Mexico? There should be a reform to the ones that have been here more than 10 years and have no criminal backgrounds. I forgot how human beings can be so ignorant and cruel. It hurt me a lot. I know I prayed hard and asked God to help us. And I thank him and only him for touching that judge’s heart and for blocking some of the law. I wish I could ask everyone one simple question. Do you really think God is only taking one particular color to heaven? God said love your neighbors, not hate your neighbors. I was raised in a Christian family and have uncles and aunts who are pastors. I do my best to follow God’s Word. I just wish the hate and racism would vanish and we’d all get along. I ask you and your friends to pray for those that are in need of God’s love and forgiveness.

If people want to boycott Arizona because we are finally putting our foot down to secure our border and save our state endless amounts of money because our federal government is not doing its part, then so be it. It surprises me to hear people want to start mixing church and state only when it is convenient for them. … Those who boycott Arizona do so based on little thought, not reality. They don’t deal with the everyday issues we do. They live in a fairy tale world, not like most working, middle-class Americans. They do not live with them as neighbors. [Illegal aliens] bring drugs into our and other states, steal from us and kill innocent people. When they are caught, they serve less time than our own citizens for the same crimes and are let out early and shipped back to Mexico, only to return again. I know of this firsthand. We drain our resources to make sure these people are taken care of, money that should be spent on our own homeless perhaps. … I hesitated to give my opinion on SB 1070 because I believe we are all entitled to our opinion, good or bad. However, I am surprised that the boycott issue has even come up with Mennonite Church USA. People should come because that is what they had planned originally, not based on the opinions of others. How many people will they inconvenience because they decide to boycott and change plans? The rules have always been here but are just now being enforced because our state’s economy can no longer afford to continue down this road. It is in the best interests of all of us. I’m not saying they can’t come here, but they should come here the legal, proper way. (This is from a letter shared with a Trinity member.)

I know a guy who was born and grew up in Mexico. His parents were U.S. citizens. He worked in the United States, driving a truck all over the country. Once he had a load to take to Vancouver, British Columbia. He had a U.S. license, but officials wouldn’t let him back into the United States, and Canadian officials detained him. After a short time, they said to him, “Why don’t you just give up your Mexican citizenship and become a Canadian citizen? Then you could get a visa to the United States.” He did this. He was young, and overstayed the visa in the United States but was afraid to apply for U.S. citizenship for fear of being deported. He has been here illegally for 27 years, and if he gets stopped, he will be deported to Canada.

I work with a family that was in the process of moving back to Mexico. The father and uncle went back to Mexico to find a place to live and get it ready. While they were there, they were shot and killed. The mother and daughter (13 years old) are still here and have nowhere to go. There is nothing to go back to in Mexico. They are dealing with a lot of fear and trauma but are afraid to come in for counseling for the daughter (a citizen) because they are afraid of being separated. I have many clients now who are too afraid to come in. Many of these clients are citizens. The problem is that one or both of the parents are not. My caseload used to be full, with a long list of those waiting for a bilingual counselor. Now only 40 percent of my clients are Hispanic.

SB 1070 was a welcome relief to me, since my politics are very conservative. If people want to live in this country, they need to come in legally, apply for citizenship and embrace America. If they are not legal, they need to go back to Mexico. I felt strongly about these beliefs and never questioned them until last week. My beliefs were shaken when I met a face in the crowd, which in this case happened to be two young Hispanic girls. They came to Glencroft to do community service to meet the requirements of their honor society.

These girls were assigned the responsibility of helping assemble 120 book bags with school supplies. This takes great attention to detail, since each bag is prepared for the gender and grade level of the child. These girls were amazing and paid attention to every detail. Maylea left after a few hours, since her high school had asked her to spend the day working as a mentor to incoming freshmen. This left Myra and me to work together. During this time it became evident we would need more supplies. I suggested lunch before our shopping trip. During lunch, I asked Myra if she was excited about her senior year in high school and what she planned after graduation. She explained she carries a 4.0 grade point average and would love to become a sports medicine doctor. I asked her about her family. She said her father was in prison and that her mother supports the four children by cleaning houses. This has been hard in recent months since she only has four houses to clean instead of the eight she had previously. Myra explained that she could not get a job because she has no social security number, and neither does her sister Maylea. They are both in the country illegally, as is their mother. The younger sister and brother are legal because they were born here. Myra was 1-year-old when she came to Arizona, and Maylea was a month old. Neither has ties to Mexico; they are Americans who, if forced to return, probably would have to drop out of school. Both girls speak Spanish but do not write it, so they would be at a distinct disadvantage in a Spanish school system.

Suddenly I felt torn. The issue was not so black and white. Myra shared with me the fear they face daily and how her sister Maylea has nightmares they will be rounded up and sent back to Mexico. She sees the family being torn apart, since the two younger children would probably stay in Arizona.

This fear was not one sided, as I, too, suddenly became fearful. I was driving with an illegal person, a crime in Arizona. What if I were stopped? Would I go to jail? Would Myra be sent back to Mexico? It turned what should have been a joyous shopping trip into a nightmare. Suddenly I was reminded of the Holocaust and had the desire to hide Myra, Maylea and her mother in my basement or attic until proper documentation could be obtained, though this was not practical for many reasons, the biggest being Arizona has no basements or attics.

SB 1070 has two sides. For many years we chose to look the other way when having undocumented workers in our country? They were here in the good times to clean our houses, work as nannies for our children and maintain our yards. Now times are harder, the budget is tighter and there is new awareness because of escalading violence and crime. Many of these individuals are no longer welcome in our country.

There are many questions. How do we care for those who have been here for many years, eliminate the criminal and violent elements and stop the flow of new illegals from coming into this country? The problem is multifaceted, and the solution needs to be the same. There are many faces in the crowd. How do we provide a humane, practical and fair approach? Maybe we look to our potential leaders and cast our votes for those willing to work for a solution that addresses all the faces in the crowd.
My purpose in sharing these stories is to help us see this complex issue from many perspectives. There are areas of immigration about which many of us agree. Here are a few:

• Immigration policy in the United States is not working and needs to be changed.
• Immigration policy is complex, and no single solution will address all concerns.
• People of any legal status who commit crimes should be tried and punished accordingly.
• All human beings should be treated humanely and fairly.
• Because of the economic differences between the United States and Mexico, some limitation on immigration will need to be made.
• There needs to be a way to apply for a work permit (green card), legal status and citizenship with a clearly defined process and timelines that are reasonable. People who have been in the United States for years should be able to pursue legal status without fear of immediate deportation (otherwise no one can apply).
• U.S. Immigration policy changes based on the employment needs at various times in history.
• Anti-immigrant sentiment becomes more mainstream when people feel threatened economically.
• Fear and harassment is not the way to deal with human problems.
• There is a long history of the use of migrant farm workers and other undocumented workers in the United States.
• God is concerned about the oppressed and about injustice in our society and expects his children to be his hands and feet in the world.
  May God lead and guide us as we seek to work for peace, justice and fairness for all people.