Soernes & Yang - Welcoming the Stranger

There are two Welcoming the Stranger books, the first by Mathew Soerens and Jenny Yang published in 2009 and subsequently updated in 2018. The Soernes & Yang book lays out the political dichotomy from the beginning. The contrasting views are 1) that the U.S. is experiencing an invasion of illegal aliens who are violent and drain public and social resources or 2) that the millions of people around the globe are simply seeking a better life for themselves and their families. The two previous groups aside, the growing number of strangers in the U.S. are actually refugees who came with legal status and support from the government. With the mix of views and statuses that are now present, there are growing numbers of U.S. citizens who recognize the complexity of migration and want to be informed about the reality rather than manipulated by competing ideological assertions. Their book is designed to address this growing middle by informing readers of how immigration works and by proposing a Biblical perspective for how to improve it.

As the title suggests, welcoming includes how to live in relationship with immigrants, refugees, and others who have lacked opportunity and thereby suffered economic deprivation. Treating others humanely begins with language and not using demeaning and derogatory language such as "illegal alien." Those who lack documentation are not criminal but simply violated a civil law. Soerens & Yang help the reader by providing stories throughout their book - real people struggling with the challenges of life, 60% of whom have been in the U.S. for more than a decade and three-fourths with a recognized legal status. Almost all undocumented immigrants pay taxes from which they will likely never benefit. They pay approximately $7 billion in sales taxes and deposit $12 billion to the Social Security system each year.

Welcoming the Stranger reiterates the often-repeated story of success in the U.S. - a nation of immigrants, with one-third coming from the generation of ancestors who arrived through Ellis Island. Each immigrant group has been vilified as they found their way to the shores or borders of the U.S. and eventually acclimated to and found success in various industries from manufacturing to service to the arts. Even with this history, ambivalence is readily evident in immigration policy changes which were modified over time to reflect shifting needs for workforce prospects and the political ramifications over competition for everything from jobs to places to live. The journey of migrants has been one of "sheer resilience, courage, and fortitude" (p. 87) establishing most as successful members of society.

Turning to faith perspectives on immigration and citing Old Testament Biblical direction to Jews in Hebrew Scriptures, a "ger" is a non-native person in a local area who is to be treated hospitably. Jews were strangers in Egypt and the story of Jesus in the New Testament Bible is of parents and a baby seeking refuge under persecution. These texts assert that migration through history has been one of God's ways of drawing people together in their human striving. After summarizing the many benefits of welcoming migrants, debunking claims of criminality, and reflecting on the strong faith-base from which many immigrants come, Soerens & Yang turned to the question of how immigration policy should be modified. However, the most compelling message was that, regardless of how one views immigration law and its modification, "we must first approach immigrants themselves as neighbors - with love" (p. 130).

Trump's 2nd coming

An opinion piece in the January 29, 2025, Chicago Tribune authored by a new U.S. citizen referred to Trump's "2nd coming" as fear arose that his citizenship could be denied before he took his oath on January 21, 2025. Considering all that we know of Trump's staunch Christian evangelical base, perhaps the "2nd coming" fits.

The pace of the first days of Trump's 2nd term could be characterized as a bullet train compared to the train wreck of his 1st term. The pace, unpredictability, randomness, and chaos that Trump creates is intentional. He sees uncertainty and surprise as key to success in negotiation - keep your opponents "on their heels" and there's much greater chance of success. Trump denied knowledge of, and disavowed a commitment to, Project 2025 during his campaign. Whether that was a lie or ignorance, the executive orders parallel the numerous points made in Project 2025. Watch the Heritage Foundation website to understand the victories already being claimed by those who drafted  the Project 2025 strategy. Even if only partially implemented, those elements that survive public scrutiny, reaction, and counter-moves will have a huge impact.

Trump sees himself as a master at negotiation, embracing a distributive negotiation worldview where he competes in a win/lose competition for limited resources. With such a view, uncertainty and chaos may be successful on many immediate initiatives. However, the downside is that uncertainty undermines rather than builds trust. But trust never was part of the Trump strategy and this is evident in who supported both his 2016 and 2024 campaigns. The pollsters all misread what was happening - Trump had so effectively sewn disbelief and distrust in media, government, education, and any sector that harbored "elites" that all were easy targets. Discrediting all those systems that more privileged citizens saw as serving and protecting them only reinforced the base of skeptics who love Trump. They say "he calls it as it really is" which "outs" a system that never worked for them as working class citizens with less educational opportunity and success. Governance by complaint, along with discrediting what previously served as separation of powers and church/state influence, has been significantly shaped by the rise of Christian nationalism and was driven by the the growing reliance on money, lies, and citing of God's provenance.

Researchers on trust in government in Canada reported early findings of their study at the International Leadership Association conference in November, 2024, in Chicago. The preliminary analyses indicates that we no longer live in a world where trust and distrust is a continuum with two alternatives. Trust in Canadian government has become a balance between justified and unjustified trust and mistrust. The result is four quadrants of justified trust, justified mistrust, unjustified trust, and unjustified mistrust. In an era of disinformation these four quadrants become very important and the Canadian researchers findings indicate that a significant portion of the citizenry in Canada moved into the unjustified mistrust quadrant, complicating any effort to gain trust of any type. As a U.S. citizen, I was provoked to wonder where the electorate has shifted and my guess is that those who refused to vote for Kamala Harris, even though she was much more qualified and credentialed, were substantially coming from an unjustified mistrust of current U.S. government. On the other hand, those who readily supported Donald Trump voted from an unjustified trust perspective - when the system has never worked for you, why wouldn't you vote for someone who calls out the failings of the current system and proclaims a new path forward?

Maya Angelou's quote "When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time" transcends time and is particularly applicable to today. Trump denied knowledge of Project 2025, which had many elements related to education, and now they are now coming to pass - reducing the scope of the Education Department, dismantling and punishing those committed to divesity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and imposing policies and practices that threaten free expression under the guise of protecting Jewish students and scholars. When asked about the origin of sometimes baseless assertions, Trump cites "common sense" or that he's a very smart person. Albert Einstein's comment that "common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen" is perhaps applicable.

These reflections about Trump's 2nd coming will likely be updated and revised in the coming days as I continue to try to sort out what is happening. My concern in particular is identifying ways that will support a return to reason and trust in leadership and the systems that they oversee and use.