What If Immigration Was Like A House?
I can't imagine the difficulties that cause someone to leave their home country and seek refuge in an unknown place in hopes of finding a better life and creating a better future.
I can't imagine what it is like to flee religious or political persecution. I can't imagine the pain of being battered and abused by a family member. I can't imagine what is like to be sold as a sex slave. These are reasons why many people leave the place they currently call "home."
Neither can I imagine being the one who is battering and abusing. I cannot imagine running from the law, not seeking asylum but rather escape. I cannot imagine transporting human beings or drugs across international borders. Not all reasons are good reasons for leaving "home."
My life experience does not help me understand the complexities of life that so many people endure on a daily basis. For that, I am blessed.
What I Do Know
But I do have an understanding of what it is like to live in a foreign country. I understand the importance of developing right-standing relationships with immigration officers and police officers. I do understand the complexity of meeting expectations of a sovereign nation and the frustrations of rules changing as quickly as the wind changes direction.
I have seen how bribery brings about results and knowing the right person at the right time can break down any barrier. I know how it feels when you are trying to do the right thing but can't find traction.
What If Immigration Was Like A House?
Over the last few days, I have been trying to find a way to visualize the issue of immigration. As a result, I came up with a simple analogy about a house.
Disclaimer: Analogies often fall short at some point in time. The issue of immigration is incredibly complex, and it is not my goal to make light of the matter. If you see some cracks in my thought process be sure to leave me a comment.
If immigration is like a house, then ...
- the owner of the house and his/her family members are the citizens of a country
- the walls of the house are the borders of the country
- the windows and doors of the house are ports of entry
- the family's view on locking, closing, and opening those doors/windows are the immigration policy
- the people who stand outside are the immigrants
Depending on how you enter the home, you might be considered family.
Welcome Sign Out In the Front Yard
Imagine that the family placed a sign in their front yard that said "Everyone welcome. Come right in. The door is always open."
In this scenario, there is no need to illegally enter the home, because everyone already has access to the home. And now that the family has offered the invitation to enter the home, they need to determine to what level they will feed and provide for their visitors.
The Family
- Is the family wealthy?
- Is the family poor?
- Does their desire to welcome others match with their ability to provide for others?
- How will providing for the guests impact the family members?
- Will resources be available to meet the needs and expectations of the family?
The Visitors
- What is their story? Does their story matter?
- Can they repay the family? Does that matter?
- Are they running away from something? Does that matter?
The Tempting Opened Window
Imagine a family who does not like guests. They stay to themselves and only provide for themselves. They like it that way.
This family has a strong, spoken opinion about who can come into their home. They rarely invite people over for dinner and they don't like people staying overnight (even extended family). But their house is big, really big. They have nice furniture, big bedrooms, and a pantry full of food.
And as much as this family says they do not want people to visit, they never close their windows and never lock their doors.
Their words and actions don't match.
- Should the family be surprised that someone might try to enter their home?
- Since the family has a big house and lots of resources, shouldn't they be expected to welcome guests?
- If someone enters this family's home, should there be legal ramifications?
The Blatant Break In
We don't know much about the next family, but we do know that they lock their doors and windows at night. The kids are tucked in. Mom and dad laid in their bed about 11PM, and just about the time they were drifting off to sleep they heard a thud in their living area. Both parents jump to their feet.
Mom ran into the kids' room. Dad was meet in the hallway by an armed robber.
- Does intent determine the status of the "visitor"?
- Would an unarmed visitor still warrant concern?
- Does the age, gender, religious affiliation, sexual orientation of the "visitor" make a difference?
- Does the past history of the visitor (previous abuse and neglect) make a difference?
Welcomed With Boundaries
Imagine a family of modest means. They are not the richest family in the neighborhood, but they would consider themselves blessed.
They constantly have friends coming over for dinner. The people they invite into their home come from different educational experiences, cultural backgrounds, religious affiliation, and nationalities. The parents want their children to see how mankind is different and how that is to be celebrated.
But mom and dad are very protective of their house and the people who live in it. They do not take kindly to acts of aggression or illegal entry into their home. They struggle with how to take care of themselves as well as bless others. This is not an either/or type of issue for this family, but rather a both/and.
This family is thinking through how to protect their home and how to make it more welcoming.
- Does it matter that the family has limited resources?
- Can this family achieve both security and hospitality?
- Since the family welcomes a lot of different people, will we judge them if they cannot welcome all people?
- Are the mom's and dad's response against aggression and illegal entry appropriate?
Final Thoughts
Immigration is too big of an issue to explain with an analogy about a family and their home. My goal is not to answer the questions, but rather give us more questions that can help guide the conversation.
I want to know what you think. Leave a comment below about something that stood out in my post. Let me know if you had an "aha moment."
@SumatraNate
Image Source: https://pixabay.com/en/architecture-family-house-front-yard-1836070/
You have started an interesting conversation here, most definitely. I like the comparisons that you have made to houses and families because its relatable. Immigration is a hot button topic in the world right now and we should be having educated discussions on how to help others while still keeping ourselves safe. Excellent information!
Ivy
I like starting interesting conversations. That was a part of my job when I worked with college students who wanted to practice conversational English.
This is an important issue. We need to talk about it.
Thanks again for looking over this post and providing feedback.
Hmm it's an interesting thought exercise. For me it already is a bit of a jump to thinking from the point is view of owner of a house and thinking as citizens. Mostly as the owner of the home I imagine a common thread will be "my house, my rules" in approaching most questions. But when talking about immigration into a country... hmm I guess it more or less is the same, it's just a question of what the rules are. But now I can't really say the rules would be the same at all.
I think they may be the same, you wouldn't invite a scumbag or a criminal to stay with your family in most cases right?
Well obviously not. I'm talking about less obvious questions because a lot of different communities share residence within a country. I don't let strangers into my house but for immigration I'd think it useful to have strangers that would benefit the country...
if you think about it you probably do let strangers into your home, ones that you have been able to vet in some way or another and have valuable skills you require. Like someone from the gas company, they have a badge or credentials and are driving the company truck and the gas company performs background checks, most people would let them in. One thing good strangers all have in common is they will come in the front door after they knock and you let them in and not break in a window and sneak in.
Well that much I can agree on as well. But those people don't stay :D. Yes I guess that's where it breaks down. But I suppose the main point is about only allowing people that go through the proper channels right?
I think that's the ideal, but if we are going to talk about illegal immigration, we'll need to talk about all sorts of things where the house analogy will break down. For example, what to do about the criminals that are already inside your home. If you say based on the analogy that you'd call the police, arrest them, and boot them out, I'm not sure I would agree with that policy for immigration especially if you would impact so many families and businesses.
I guess one would say that you need hard, strict controls and enforcement to prevent that situation in the first place, which can be done too. But I don't think it's in the best interest of the country to be booting people that are actually good citizens which is something you see in the indiscriminate policies right now.
Exactly, if you have good intentions and something to contribute you can come here through the front door. The problems with allowing illegal aliens to stay and be second class citizens are manifold, businesses that exploit illegal labor are also criminal and should be held accountable, we should not look the other way and allow them to exploit people, the only reason to hire illegals would be to exploit them wouldn't it? When parents commit crimes that affects their families, 2/3 of the people in prison have kids, kids they are separated from, that is not a reason not to enforce the laws in any other case, it ought not to be one here.
Actual good citizens even have options for becoming legal in our system. Adults who cross the border illegally are criminals and need to be held accountable no different from other criminals.
Hmm yeah. I suppose I would go for a more lenient transition because we weren't taking it seriously before, and I'm sure there are further economic ramifications as well (the kind that's like, pretty much rampant right now). The ideal end state we can probably both agree on.
the best thing you can do is be strict so they don't try to come in the first place, Obama said unaccompanied minors could have amnesty, so they sent tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors and now we are reaping the consequences of that. When it first started I said the Europeans should start sinking all those migrant boats, they wouldn't really have to sink many before they stopped coming. Then all of the ensuing chaos could have been avoided there.
I realize that the analogy is not perfect, but I believe there are some connections. The people in the home decide who they allow into their home.
This is a challenging topic because we often react with our emotions but are not willing to respond the same way with our actions. Thanks for engaging in the conversation. I really appreciate it.
the people who stand outside are the legal immigrants, and the people that break in are the criminals.
I agree that there are legal channels that should be followed. I feel sorry for people who are trying to abide by the rules to find legal immigration status while other people are disrgarding the process.
Exactly, the people who follow the rules and have to wait longer because of those who break them are the real victims here, them and the American taxpayers who have to deal with kicking out bums and criminals instead of welcoming legal newcomers who add to the tax revenue.
Really interesting! I am currently living in a forein country for past 11 years of my life, (UAE to be exact). I always try to respect and and be aware of their laws, cultures and traditions of my host country.
As for the immigration of a country. Hard to say, but i would likely choose "welcomed with boundaries" with a fair set of limits.
This is very insightful and interesting article. Thanks for a well read today.
I lived overseas for more than 10 years. I understand the challenges that people face. I have also seen how other countries viewed me as an outsider.
I like your analogy , it would be nice if when the "visitors" who break in to the home would actually be removed from it by the law enforcement officials instead of being told to just move to different room in the house.
Your comment matches up with the house analogy. I agree that with most concerns of our day, we need to find a way to resolve the issue instead of just passing it along for someone else to figure. As always, thanks for stopping by.
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That's a really interesting point of view that could open some minds. The post is to re-read once again. Thank's
Thanks for reading. I don't have all of the answers, but I enjoyed helping people have conversations about this topic.
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