Local pastor: Assistance amounts to ‘hospitality’

Local Samaritan the Rev. Randy Mayer of the Church of Good Shepherd defended his stand on offering humanitarian aid in a speech Wednesday, saying it was “hospitality.”

Speaking to a full house of about 130 at a Green Valley Forum talk at the East Center, he referred to the U.S./Mexico border as “the only place in the world where the First and Third Worlds collide.”

Moving to Sahuarita nine and a half years ago to be close to the border, he spoke of a “sense of hospitality” calling it “a moral obligation.”

“When the pilgrims came to this country it was clear this would be a country of immigrants… it’s part of our DNA… hospitality to immigrants is absolutely essential to who we are,” Mayer said.

He then read a partial quote from "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus, which is engraved on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty… “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

Using the word “hospitality” often in his delivery, Mayer said, “There’s always been a sense of hospitality in this desert.”

He spoke of being a founding member of Humane Borders in 2000 and said, “Death needed to be taken out of the migrant equation.”

Referring to the efforts by the Samaritans and Humane Borders, Mayer said the only alternative was the Border Patrol and it is called only when medical aid is needed.

In September 2000, he was part of a group to put out the first water stations; today, there are 90 such stations as migrants make their way from the border to Green Valley.

The closest station is in Arivaca.

Acknowledging the problems caused by migrants in the community, Mayer asked rhetorically, “What do we do with the human wreckage in our neighborhoods and in our backgrounds?” He said his groups do go out to clean up trashed areas in the desert.

Responding to those who say it’s illegal to give food, water and medical aid, Mayer said it’s absolutely legal to offer food and water; if medical aid is needed, the Border Patrol is called.

Then talking about the root causes, he said the Border Patrol and the Minutemen were treating only the symptoms.

“The U.S. Congress folks have refused to take on immigration reform… more and more money is poured into security and protection.”

He spoke of civil and criminal law, moral law and economic law and said it’s because of faulty economics by the U.S. based on NAFTA that people are going where the work is.

“Immigration has chosen our community… we live in a land of abundance; why are we scared… we are turning away young people who want to work… it’s easy to get caught on the road of fear,” Mayer told the audience.

When asked what his solution would be, Mayer said there’s no system for those who want to come into the U.S.; there’s a 20-year wait.

He spoke of sketchy details of a shared bond plan where a worker would accumulate money so he or she could go back to Mexico at the end of two years and start a business.

Before his presentation, Mayer was asked if showers were being installed in a new building now under construction at the Church of Good Shepherd in Sahuarita.

He said showers were being installed; the reason given was because they often have youth groups coming down.

Asked if the showers would be used by migrants, Mayer said, “That was never the intent.”

Ellen Sussman is a freelance writer in Green Valley. Contact her at ellen2414@cox.net.