Immigration and the “R Word”
I like traditional Irish music, and one of my favorite songs is “The Rambling Irishman,” made popular in 1976 by a group called The Wolfe Tones. One of the reasons it appeals to me is that it is about an Irish emigrant from Ulster, the northern part of Ireland where many of my Irish ancestors lived. This is the song’s first verse.
I am a rambling Irishman
In Ulster I was born in
And many the pleasant days I spent
Round the shores of sweet Lough Erne
But to be poor I could not endure
Like others of my station
To Americay I sailed away
And left this Irish nation
My own family members who emigrated to the U.S. could relate to the line, “but to be poor I could not endure.” From all that I know about them, they were at least as poor as many of the immigrants to the U.S. from Latin America, Africa and Asia.
Owen McNulty
When I first visited Ireland in 1960, I experienced that poverty first-hand. A cousin of my grandmother, Owen McNulty, had a 40-acre farm, at least 39 acres of which “grew” only rocks. He was so poor, said another Irish relative, he had to “graze the long acre.” That meant that due to the poor quality of his soil, he had to tie his two cows to stakes in the road ditches and move them frequently throughout the day to keep the cows fed.
Owen, his wife and two sons, lived in a two-room house with a thatch roof. There was no road to the house, so they had to walk through neighbors’ property to reach it. They had no chimney but an open hearth, allowing smoke to work its way around the ceiling before exiting the chimney. The family hung their winter clothes over the rafters, and the clothes, and much of what was in the house, appeared to be covered with soot.
No Quotas
Like many immigrants from the southern Hemisphere who emigrate to the U.S. today, my immigrant family members and millions from Europe encountered bigotry and hatred (as well as welcome and kindness) when they arrived in the U.S. Many arrived before any quotas on immigrants were in place so there was no question of “illegality” and the U.S. government, and most Americans accommodated, if not welcomed, them.
I often think about Owen when I meet Latin American immigrants in my volunteer work or read about them, and about the measures that are planned to keep them out or send them home. Although many of our ancestors may have met with discrimination and even hatred when they arrived in the U.S., it doesn’t compare, in my estimation, to what current immigrants face today. The hostility is rampant.
And isn’t it interesting that the vast majority of the people who are arriving are non- white? There are no protests or government concerns about people arriving from Europe or crossing our border with Canada, so it’s hard not to believe that a lot of the resistance to current immigration is motivated by racism.
I know a lot of people hate, and refuse to use, that word, but I believe it’s a valid term for the vitriol with which many Americans view immigrants. And I believe racism is an obstacle in the search for God.
Do We Honor King’s Memory?
We have recently celebrated the birthday of Martin Luther King, and like on the occasion of many such holidays, I wonder how many Americans really honor King’s memory.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, commented on the occasion of MLK Day, saying that “Dr. King’s memorial holiday is a fitting occasion to recall … his words from Letter from a Birmingham Jail where he stated, ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’
Said the archbishop: “In reflecting on the continuing realities of racial injustice, immigrant families seeking welcome, and economic disparity, these words remind us that we are connected and responsible for each other as we seek to fulfill the dream. …Let us be inspired by this righteous man’s work and sacrifice to create a more just society for all of God’s children.”
