Immigrants as Scapegoats

I Samuel 8 and Misdirected Anger

For a while now, my job has been to talk to conservatives about the need for immigration reform. I live in the reddest county in the state of Iowa—Sioux County. Members of my community overwhelmingly voted for President Trump…three times. When I talk about immigration I often (not always) find support for immigrants and refugees. People vote based on a variety of issues. One person said to me, after a presentation, “I agree with you, but immigration is not the most important issue for me.” This forces me to listen, to understand why over 50 percent of the country would vote for an administration that was honest about what they were going to do to immigrants and refugees.

What I discovered is misdirected anger—rage is a better word. Hard working people who feel like they’ve fallen behind; young people who gave some of their best years to fight in wars that didn’t seem to matter, returning home battered and changed. All of this anger and rage had to go somewhere, and the current administration found an easy target—immigrants. Yes, I know this has been the case for over a century—since the country began implementing immigration policy. But this version has melded with social media and a fragmented society to foster exaggerations and false propaganda that undergird current actions. The Trump administration has been able to tap this anger and turn it into a political movement. It has done so at the expense of immigrants and refugees, who are blamed for everything from violent crime, economic recession, missing pets, and an increased number of young adult children who don’t leave the basement. Of course none of this is true—there is much data and statistical evidence to prove it’s not. But, we’re not living in a rational, cooler heads, moment; we’re living through emotional upheaval.

In Healing Affluenza and Resisting Plutocracy, Ched Meyers makes a reference to I Samuel 8 where the people ask Samuel for a king. They are tired of Samuel and his corrupt sons, who “turned aside after gain; they took bribes and perverted justice.” (I Samuel 8:3) They tell him they want a king. He tells them what the outcome will be, and it isn’t good. A king will take their daughters, their fields, and their harvest—all for selfish gain. The king will give these things to “his officers and his courtiers”, taking a tenth of their wealth. Samuel tells them they will cry out to God, but the Lord will not listen. In response, the text says “But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said ‘No! but we are determined to have a king over us, so that we make be like other nations, and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battled.” (I Samuel 8:19-20) Meyers writes, “Early on, Samuel warned that a monarchy would gear the economy to the elite through ruthless policies of surplus-extraction and militarism.” (p. 45)

Our current political situation is one where genuine grievances have been used to implement destructive policies. Immigrants are blamed for problems they did not cause, including problems they might even help solve (population decline and social security deficits). The values of Western civilization are used as code to disparage immigrants from non-western countries and cultures, and enact racist and discriminatory policy. Like I Samuel 8, our current situation shows how valid criticism can lead to self destructive policies.

So what should we do?

The Christian community needs to hear the words of Samuel. We need to remember how Solomon in I Kings 8-11 brings this prophesy to fulfillment as he enslaves the people to build both his palace and the temple. We need to hear the prophetic critic of the rulers of Israel as they took advantage of the poor and marginalized for their own gain. We must become like the pesky widow in Jesus parable who relentlessly asked the judge to grant her justice. “For a while he refused; but later he said to himself, ‘Though I have no fear of God and no respect for anyone, yet because this widow keeps bother me, I will grant her justice, so that she may not wear me out by continually coming.’” (Luke 18:4-5) Jesus reminds us, “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? Will he delay in helping them? I tell you, he will quickly grant justice to them. And yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” (Luke 18:7-8)

The Christian community must break the cycle by seeking God’s justice for all people. We do this by building social and economic structures that promote flourishing, and immigration and asylum laws that are fair and merciful. We must deal with the anger and frustration, taking away the fuel that allows the scapegoating of immigrants to become a raging fire. To quote the band Idles:

Not a single thing has ever been mended
By you standing there and saying you’re offended
Go ahead, tell them what I’ve intended
I’ll say what I mean, do what I love
And f#$king send it

Do you hear that thunder?
That’s the sound of strength in numbers

There’s nothing brave and nothing useful
You scrawling your aggro s#!t on the walls of the cubicle
Saying my race and class ain’t suitable
So I raise my pink fist and say black is beautiful

A quick note: As the hostility toward our immigrant and refugee neighbors continues to grow, consider signing up for a $5 a month paid subscription to this newsletter. Your financial support will go, not only to the writing of this newsletter, but to the continued work an behalf of immigrants and refugees in our community.