This is another emergency election edition of the Zeitcast--because I cannot sit on this conversation for five seconds knowing how central immigration is to the choices Americans are making this week--and how central immigration will continue to be long after this week is over. Zeke Hernandez' book The Truth about Immigration is a REVELATION. I wish I could buy one for every single one of you, I wish it were required reading for every person in public life who is providing any commentary around immigration at all.

We have all heard rhetoric about immigrants either as victims in need of our saving or of villains that we are in need of saving from. What if the truth is "that immigrants are net positives contributors to everything that makes a society successful?" The truth is that most of us have vague assumptions based on anecdotal stories we've heard or read about immigrants. But data/facts are not partisan, and this should not ultimately be a partisan issue. What if the story the facts actually tell are that we are actually SAFER with more immigration than with less? It is true that we have a deeply broken immigration system in the U.S., and spoiler alert--neither party on the whole is addressing the foundational issues that underwrite the problem. But how much closer could we get to the truth about such things, if we had the resources to sort fact from fiction?

Perhaps the most buried truth of them all, is that even with real problems around illegal immigration, whether immigrants are legal or illegal they STILL contribute overwhelmingly positively to the U.S. economy, categorically. Professor Hernandez helps us reckon with the empirical data surrounding immigration, reframing immigration as a matter of self-interest, rather than around either fear or charity.

This is a deeply important conversation for every citizen, but especially for people of faith. We wrangle honestly with the tough questions, en route to the truth that on some level we are always circling around--that all hope is local, and the way we can make a difference here ultimately will be made in real life in our real communities with real neighbors. But in order to love our neighbors, surely we must first stop believing lies about them, and bearing false witness against them? I humbly ask that you share this one broadly, and shout it from the housetops if you can.