Event Celebrates Immigrants as ‘Blessing, Not Burden’

Coincidentally, on the same day that the U.S. Supreme Court issued a 4-4 decision on immigration, over 80 community members gathered at an immigrant-owned restaurant in Grand Rapids, Mich., to celebrate the blessings immigrants are to their community and to the United States.

While it was a time of blessing and celebration, it was also an occasion for sadness over the court decision.

“The gathering was positive, hopeful, and empowering as community members from a variety of sectors shared the many ways they see immigrants contributing to the city, to congregations, and to the economy,” said Kelsey Herbert, campaign coordinator for the Christian Reformed Church’s Office of Social Justice.

But on that day in late June when they met at the Taqueria El Rincon restaurant, the community members were also deeply discouraged by the Supreme Court ruling.

At issue in the court case was the matter of expanding to parents the program known as DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration policy, which allows certain undocumented immigrants, who entered the country before their 16th birthday and before June 2007, to receive a renewable two-year work permit and exemption from deportation.

As a result of the tied decision in the Supreme Court, a lower court ruling blocking the expansion stayed intact.

“The court’s decision reminded us of the brokenness of our immigration system and why this message of immigrants being a blessing and not a burden to our community and country is so important,” said Herbert.

Various people spoke at the event. Not present, however, was a woman who is a strong advocate for immigration reform and whose parents and in-laws are among the 5 million people that DAPA, or Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents (supported also by President Obama), could have helped.

“She was so discouraged over the court’s decision,” said Herbert. “She has been able to work legally and live without fear of deportation because of the DACA program. She says DACA changed her life, and she wishes the same for her parents.”

Unfortunately, her parents and inlaws will not get the same opportunity at this point.

“Her parents and parents-in-law could have gotten legal status if DAPA had been upheld,” said Kate Kooyman, restorative justice coordinator for the CRC.

The gathering in Grand Rapids, said Kooyman, was the latest in a series of events that OSJ has held across the U.S. as part of its Immigrants Are a Blessing, Not a Burden campaign.

Besides introducing the message of the campaign to Grand Rapids, the event was an important way to celebrate the contributions immigrants have made to the community economically, socially, and spiritually—and more broadly to the U.S., said Kooyman, who spoke at the event.

“So often, the conversation about immigrants is characterized by their needs—what services are available, approaches to providing assistance or outreach, programs that churches have done that target immigrants.

“But missing from that is all the data that points to the ways that immigrants are of benefit to the community as a whole. . . . The event was a chance to celebrate how much better our communities are—how much safer, vibrant, thriving we all are when immigrants are here.”

Speaking at the event were Colin Watson, director of ministries and administration for the CRC; Shannon Jammal-Hollemans, a CRC pastor who serves as collaborative program developer for the CRC; and Christy Knestch, director of youth ministries at Madison Square CRC in Grand Rapids.

Also speaking were Mariano Avila, a WGVU reporter; Lucy Godoy Kessler, who was born in Honduras and is the owner of Taqueria El Rincon; and Sepa Nashale, a Calvin College student who was born in the Republic of Congo.

Each speaker shared from his or her perspective how they see immigrants blessing the community and the United States.

Watson began his remarks by asking, “Why do we care about immigration? About the plight of immigrants? We can’t avoid it. It’s right at the core of our faith, of God’s command to love our neighbor.”

For more on what the speakers had to say at the Blessing, Not Burden event, visit this blog by Natalie Hart on the website of the Grand Rapids Association of Pastors.

The next Blessing, Not Burden event will be the film Documented: A Film by an Undocumented American on Aug. 17 at the Wealthy Street Theater in Grand Rapids.