Undocumented immigrants bring many gifts to the table:

What brings undocumented immigrants to our community? Do they benefit us or harm us?

Father Carlos Martinez

















The Gospel of Matthew (Mt 2:13-15) reminds us of the passage of the Holy Family fleeing to Egypt due to the persecution of Herod. I have reflected on this Gospel and I have asked myself how difficult it was for them. We do not know for sure if there were already immigration laws to enter another country, whether their entry into Egypt was “legal” or “illegal.” But they entered and lived there anyway.

What did they do to earn a living and survive in a foreign land? Were they welcomed as refugees in that place? José, María and Jesús, The past months have become an even more important task of sharing in God’s bounty, and in any talent we possess. There are so many needful people in our lives — the elderly, the house-bound and young people raising children of their own and struggling to maintain a quality of life that will prepare them for their future. when leaving in a hurry and fleeing from Herod’s violence, had neither the power, nor the opportunity, much less the privilege to migrate to another country of their own free will or deliberate the decision as a family. One day they left, only to return to Galilee a long while later.

Perhaps the story of the Holy Family in other forms and circumstances is also shared by many of the undocumented migrant families that we see on a daily basis in our neighbor- hoods, workplaces and parishes. Theirs are stories of pain, of saying goodbye to their loved ones without wanting to, with the hope of being free and having what they humanly need to live in dignity. Many people think they should not be here, because they are “illegal” and have violated the law, ignoring the multiple factors and reasons of why Hispanic families migrate to America.

I know one man who fled violence in El Salvador 20 years ago, when he was the same age that his son — who made the crossing in his mother’s womb — is today. They crossed the border and the desert in search of their survival. Although all do not come for the same reason, many flee from threats including violence, hunger, unemployment and administrative and political corruption in their countries. Many now experience the threats of deportation, rejections and racism, but also are so welcomed as a labor force to integrate the economy in the states.

The state of Kentucky benefits in many ways from them. Undocumented migrants participate in the growing of the economy, from working on farms, construction and labor, entertainment, the food industry and home services to representing the 17 percent of fisheries, agriculture and forestry employees. Migrants are an integral part of Kentucky’s diverse and thriving communities, making great contributions that benefit everyone.

According to the website of the American Immigration Council, there are 35,000 undocumented immigrants in Kentucky, comprising 22 percent of the immigrant population and 1 percent of the state’s total population in 2016. Undocumented immigrants in Kentucky paid approximately $83.2 million in federal taxes and $53.3 million in state and local taxes in 2018. Also, documented immigrants paid $900.7 million in federal taxes and $465.2 million in state and local taxes in 2018. In addition, more than 24,000 U.S. citizens in Kentucky live with at least one family member who is undocumented.

This means that the situation of the undocumented affects not only a few, but also many families who fear the deportation of a loved one and family separation. But how much does it affect us? The story of the Holy Family may elicit feelings of pain and sorrow because Jesus, Mary and Joseph lived these difficult situations, but will it also give us the same pain and sorrow for all these undocumented families? Many of them are longing and hoping for a just and necessary immigration reform in our country, one that it does not separate their families, but which give the chance to them to exist and being.

If this country is really led by Christians, we should also know and remember that Jesus was once poor, foreign and undocumented, or maybe an “illegal.”

Father Carlos is a pastoral vicar at Mary Queen of the Holy Rosary in Lexington.