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Immigration Theology from a Dreamer

'Statue of liberty' photo (c) 2011, Rakkhi Samarasekera - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

"I will call them my people, who were not my people. And her beloved, who was not beloved." (Romans 9:25 referencing Hosea 2:23)

Estranged, alienated, and removed; anyone living in an industrialized modern society in the 21st century would be able to define, or at least identify the sentiments of these words. Our time is one of mass communication and instantaneous access to knowledge. And yet our lives are too compartmentalized, increasingly divided, and our society reflects this. Indeed the existential writers of yesteryear were correct in diagnosing the iron cage that would befall us, ultimately leading to an eclipse of reason.

My Undocumented Life: Full of Magic and Meaning

My grandfather taught me that "There is magic and meaning in every moment." These words were passed down to him from his grandfather, and from his grandfather's grandfather, and I witness the truth of those words with my eyes every day. I have come to realize that as Shakespeare wrote, they are "upon me proved." As an undocumented immigrant, I do not need to be accepted into your terrestrially timed nation-state to be the human I was created to be. My life trajectory has a destiny and fate that is not controlled by the powers of empire. As my grandfather taught me, I am sure that there is magic and meaning in my life. Love is what brought me into this world, and it is by compassion and grace that I was raised. I am done begging, sitting, waiting, and crying at your doorstep.

My Story as an Undocumented Immigrant

To become an undocumented immigrant requires very little but is a result of tremendous social, economic, political, and environmental forces; I offer my story as example.

Without Health-Care Reform, the Customer Is Always Wrong

From my up-close-and-personal perspective as a cancer survivor, I couldn't agree more with LaVonne Neff's main point: it is the system, rather than insurance corporations, that is to blame for 18,000 unnecessary deaths a year

Health Insurance's Fight Club Rules

"The first rule of Fight Club is you do not talk about Fight Club." I said this the first time I came to work with bruises on my face.

A Cancer Survivor Speaks Out For Health-Care Reform

Financial Assistance: Is Your Church Ready?

In the upcoming weeks and months, desperate people will knock on the doors of almost every church across the nation to ask for emergency financial assistance.