a safer place

An essay on the future of America

ByThe Rev. Dr. Mark R. Sills

Executive Director, FaithAction International House

www.faihouse.orgwww.faihouse.org

we lived in a safer we lived in a safer country, where we country, where we didn’t have to fear didn’t have to fear terrorists?terrorists?

or people who speak languages

we don’t understand?

What if it used our taxes to build a wall that will keep out people who should not be here?

the government rounded up those people who have come

here illegally to take American jobs and threaten

our way of life?

you go to the store to buy fresh produce and fruit?

More than 80% of those working in orchards and fields are immigrants. Raids have scared off many of these workers. Already there are reports of produce rotting in the fields in California due to a lack of workers. Large farms in Arizona and Pennsylvania have shut down for the same reason.

you decided to go down the street to one of your favorite restaurants to enjoy a nice lunch…

In America today, more than half of all of those doing the hard work of cooking and

washing dishes are immigrants.

when driving down the road you notice

something disturbing?

Nearly 30% of road construction workers in America are immigrants who do the hard work of filling and

paving.

you decided to build a new home for your

family?

In some areas a majority of construction workers are immigrants! Even a small

loss of workers will force costs to escalate dramatically.

if you needed emergency medical attention but

could not get it?

In the USA, 20% of all medical doctors are

immigrants. Without them our already shaky health

care system would collapse.

Since the mid-1990’s, spending and investments by immigrants have created hundreds of thousands of new jobs each year. If large numbers of workers are

deported, and many others decide to leave due to the anti-immigrant environment,

those jobs will go with them.

It will cover only about 800 miles out of a total of 7,525 miles of land border, and does not even begin to address the 88,633 miles

of shoreline border of the USA.

To wall our entire To wall our entire border would cost border would cost

more than $20,000 more than $20,000 for every man, for every man,

woman, and child in woman, and child in our nation our nation

(including the (including the immigrants, of immigrants, of

course).course).Would we really Would we really

want to wall want to wall ourselves in if we ourselves in if we

could?could?

……this is this is the safer the safer America America that we that we end up end up with?with?

What if we just realized how What if we just realized how much we really do need each much we really do need each

other?other?

Safer,Richer,

More just,More workable,

Better!

Let’s form a united Let’s form a united community of many community of many cultures – where all cultures – where all people of good will people of good will are welcomed and are welcomed and

treated with respect.treated with respect.

FaithAction International HouseFaithAction International House705 North Greene Street705 North Greene StreetGreensboro, NC 27401Greensboro, NC 27401

www.faihouse.orgwww.faihouse.org