"This is hard teaching. Who can accept it?"

Clairity offers a counter-cultural witness rooted in the Gospel. I find myself torn. A nearby town in the County I call home experienced tragedy at the hands of an illegal alien. While I understand that not all illegal aliens are hardened criminals, by definition they have broken US law in order to come here. My wife, her brothers and sisters, and in-laws, all went through the long process of securing work visas in order to come to the United States as legal residents. Where is the justice in equating their status here with those that travel the Coyote Road?

Even as I write this, though, I consider the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Who complained the most? Those hired in the morning. Yet was not the vineyard master just in paying his workers whatever they had agreed? Our Vineyard Master has blessed us with a wonderful land and the hearts of many noble people that have made it better. Are we then to grumble when He extends this invitation to others? Are we to cry out about the law when too many among us intice too many to come anyways?

On the other hand, Is this current way of life fair to those people that illegally come here? What life could undocumented workers expect? The money they earn far exceeds what they could earn in their own countries, undoubtedly. Yet what are the costs to them? Can they buy their own homes, as my in-laws have done? Can their children secure college loans, as my son may some day? Do they live in an alternative economy in which the value of their service exceeds what they're compensated for on account of their vulnerable status? Can they live in peace when a knock at the door can end their dreams?

In the end, we must work for justice for us all. A fair system must be established, so that those willing to contribute to our society have the opportunity to do so. Those here illegally must register with the authorities, and if they are law-abiding, receive an opportunity to regularize their status. Most importantly, we must be willing to extend ourselves as authentic neighbors to our immigrant brothers and sisters. They need to know that we see them first as people.

For their sake, as well as ours, the United States must stop the inflow of illegal aliens. Once the border is secure, the procedures for expeditiously admitting the appropriate and willing immigrants should be executed immediately. If we as a nation fail to do either, we do no justice to the visitors in our midst. We trap them in a shadowy world in which they are always the stranger that we will not welcome. We, in turn, will wonder whenever one of them is involved in a calamity why any of them are allowed to be here at all. Such reasonableness is not the justice and Love our Master demands. We must be better than that.

Otherwise, what is the use of tastless salt?