In the 1980s when Lucio and Teresa Moreno made their separate but entwined treks north of the Rio Grande and into Washington state, another national discussion on immigration reform was underway. That debate resulted in legislation that gave immediate legal status to the Morenos and virtually all their fellow activists at Tyson in Pasco. This legalization program, however, was only temporary; since then, the numbers of undocumented immigrants have risen to even greater levels than they had reached in 1986. As the current immigration dispute rages, we can gain some moral clarity by considering what immigrants say about their own experiences and their reasons for immigrating. We should also take note of how things ultimately turned out for the immigrants who benefited from the last major legalization initiative, and be open to seeing how beyond merely “adjusting” to U.S. society, immigrants can provide hope and ethical fortitude for re-making this society as a more humane community.
Dr. Paul Apostolidis, associate professor of politics at Whitman College and the Judge and Mrs. Timothy A. Paul Chair of Political Science, is author of Stations of the Cross: Adorno and Christian Right Radio. A version of this op-ed appeared in an issue of A Matter of Spirit, the quarterly newsletter of the Peace and Justice Center in Seattle.
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