New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open - 37

New World Outlook

kingdom that was prepared for you
before the world began. I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I
was thirsty and you gave me a drink.
I was a stranger and you welcomed
me. I was naked and you gave me
clothes to wear. I was sick and you
took care of me. I was in prison and
you visited me." (Matthew 25: 3436, CEB)
Immigrants and refugees are the
most vulnerable people in the world.
They have no political power and
therefore few defenders within our
government. Immigrants' and refugees' lack of political agency results
in lives of struggle-starvation, exile,
illness, and unjust detention. Our clients arrive at Tennessee Justice for
Our Neighbors in search of an advocate and defender, even when
they've done nothing wrong.
In order to protect this most vulnerable group of people, those with
political voice must speak up for the
persecuted and threatened parts
of humankind. Yet, our immigration
laws are subject to the interest of
voters who have never interacted
with our immigration system and understandably never had much reason to learn about the process. We
must treat every person with kindness and dignity, but we must also
hold a preference for immigrants and
refugees. They are the embodiment
of Jesus in our midst; they are hungry and seeking nourishment. They
are thirsty and seeking refreshment.
They are strangers seeking hospitality. They are imprisoned and seeking
freedom. They are Christ among us.
God promises that we will "inherit the Kingdom of God." That doesn't
mean the struggle in the here and
now will be easy. We will receive
more hate mail. Our closest friends
and family will be puzzled by what
we do. With every refugee who is
resettled safely in the United States,

SUMMER 2017

and with every immigrant who receives a Green Card after years of struggle,
there is the realization that justice does eventually come. Our challenge is to
increase access to this kind of justice. It is God's justice according to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Wade Munday is the executive director of the Tennessee Justice For Our Neighbors in
Nashville, Tennessee.

South Florida

The Heart of the Misery

by Janet Horman

outh Florida Justice for our Neighbors is an immigration legal aid ministry
located just south of Miami in Homestead, Florida. This largely agricultural
area is home to Mexican, Haitian, Guatemalan, Salvadoran, Honduran, Cuban,
and Nicaraguan immigrant families. Many work in hotels, construction, and
farming. Some families arrived decades ago and settled after working for years
as migrant workers, moving from location to location with the harvest. Working
in the sweltering Floridian heat, they bring winter strawberries, citrus, green
beans, Easter orchids, and Christmas poinsettias to the rest of the country.
I often call this the heart of the misery. One of the most painful things we
witness is fear in the eyes of children born in the United States who are old
enough to understand that their mom and dad are undocumented immigrants.
They have been raised and educated in the United States and now fear that
their parents could be detained or deported at any time of day or night. You
might assume that these parents, like others who come lawfully on a valid
visa, could simply "wait their turn in line." It was not until I was in law school

Team members of JFON South Florida: Emily Kvalheim, Community Relations Coordinator
(Global Mission Fellow US-2); Roland Robinson, Attorney; the Rev. Janet Horman, Attorney
and Director, UMC Church and Community Worker; Caitlin Kastner, Clinic and Intake
Coordinator (Global Mission Fellow US-2). PHOTO: JFON SOUTH FLORIDA

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of New World Outlook - Summer 2017 - Open