Reading the paper and watching the news, hearing so many of the pundits and politicians talk about immigration reform, I can almost feel them burrowing for cracks.
The restrictionists have been hammering away, trying to push wedges between stakeholders, between groups, trying to pit “us” against “them” and argue that some will be winners and some will be losers.
Many reporters are looking to see if any of the organizations currently working together will come out against another. Are there fractures in this coalition? After years of work and the recent months of concentrated forward momentum, are stresses beginning to show?
I look around at all of us calling for immigration reform and I am heartened to see that the foundation on which we are standing is strong. That we continue to support each other, the disparate individuals and groups who have come together to fight for a cause greater than any of us.
We’re fighting for families, for businesses, for communities. We’re battling for rights that reflect our nation’s values.
“Many hands make light work” is a proverb I know well, and I’ve found that it applies beyond working the land. It has real meaning when many come together, agreeing on the need to see change happen. Having others in this fight, strangers and friends, all pushing towards a common goal does make the work less arduous because we know that in this vital work we are never standing alone.
This time around, there are religious organizations, businesses, and law enforcement groups joining together, calling for immigration reform from the perspective that “Bibles, Badges and Businesses” are united on the need for real reform. And they aren’t the only ones! Many groups are putting aside past differences and focusing on similarities–what we know is needed for our country.
There are many voices raised with ours, millions of lives that can and must be changed through real immigration reform. Instead of discord, which is what the opposition hopes to hear from us, let’s keep the harmony.
