Episode 66: Beyond Fear: Humanizing the Immigration Debate

Fear powers our immigration debates. We hear it in political rhetoric, see it in policy decisions, and witness its impact on millions of lives. But what lies beneath this fear? Is it justified? And how can we move beyond it?

Today's episode delves into the complex emotions that drive our responses to immigrants and refugees. We start by clarifying important distinctions – who qualifies as an immigrant versus a refugee or asylum seeker – while acknowledging sobering statistics: 123 million people worldwide have been forced from their homes, with 44 million classified as refugees. These aren't faceless masses but individuals with dreams, fears, and stories that deserve to be heard.

We explore a rarely discussed immigration pathway: "citizenship by investment" programs allowing wealthy individuals to purchase legal status for $100,000-$500,000. This creates a two-tiered system where some can bypass the very lines others are told to wait in patiently. Meanwhile, misinformation fuels negative stereotypes about immigrants "stealing jobs" or "draining resources," despite consistent evidence showing immigration's positive economic impacts. 

For people of faith, this conversation demands alignment between spiritual values and social perspectives. We cannot claim to love God while discriminating against our neighbors. 

Chapters

• 0:09 Welcome to Above the Noise
• 1:05 Defining Immigration Status Types
• 4:30 Citizenship by Investment Programs
• 5:31 Understanding Fear of Immigration
• 7:44 Cultural Fears and Misconceptions
• 10:10 Building Bridges Through Faith
• 12:38 Closing and Call to Action

Transcript

Grantley Martelly: 0:09

Welcome to Above the Noise, a podcast at the intersection of faith, race and reconciliation, and I'm your host, grant Lee Martelly. Welcome to Above the Noise. This episode explores the complex issues surrounding immigration and refugees. Today, we are diving into the difficult but crucial topic the fear that many people feel towards immigrants and refugees. It is a fear that fuels political rhetoric, shapes public policy and ultimately impacts the lives of millions of people. But what lies at the heart of this? Is it justified? How can we, as a society, move forward with greater empathy and understanding? Let's set the stage. Every country needs borders. Every country needs borders. Every country needs good governance. Every country has a right to have just and equitable laws governing immigration, refugee, resettlement, asylum-seeking processes and pathways to citizenship within their borders. This is the essence of being a country. I'm not promoting open borders with no checks and balances. We need to be vigilant, we need to be cautious and we also need to be honest and just to take care of the poor and the foreigner within our borders. We must have mechanisms to address crime, criminal intent, human trafficking and things that can happen within the framework of immigration by people who have nefarious intent.

Grantley Martelly: 1:57

Let's start by identifying who's an immigrant. An immigrant is someone who moves to another country with the intent of residing there permanently or at least for a long time. They are settling into a new country and intend to build a new life there while they are there. Who is a refugee? A refugee is a person who have been forced to flee their country in order to escape war, persecution, natural disaster, social or political instability, and they cannot return safely. As of 2024, there were approximately 123 million people who had been forced to flee their homes around the world, including. Among those were 44 million who could be classified as refugees. Who is an asylum seeker? According to Amnesty International, an asylum seeker is someone who has left their country and is seeking protection from persecution or serious human rights violations in another country, but whose application for asylum has not yet been legally determined. So this is why we hear comments made in the news or in articles about international asylum laws, where people are to be afforded the right to have their case heard in a court of law when they apply for asylum, for the court to determine if they have a well-founded fear and should be granted asylum or not. You can find more of these various definitions and how they are processed on the UNHCR site, unhcr. org, and this is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees who handles most refugee issues around the world.

Grantley Martelly: 3:48

In many countries, people can buy their immigration status by making an economic contribution, and this is aimed at attracting wealthy, preferred immigrants, regardless of their character, their history in many cases, or their intent. It's caused citizenship by investment in many countries, including Caribbean countries and the Golden Visa Program in the United States, Great Britain and other European countries, and this has been going on for a long time, and they usually require contributions between $100,000 and $500,000 in order to be granted status in that country legally. Now, this is interesting because many of the discussions we hear about refugees and asylums and immigrants is that people should wait their turn, and they should get in line and wait until their turn comes to be considered to be an immigrant or a refugee or an asylum seeker. However, we don't hear much talk about this that the wealthy and the ultra-wealthy can skip the line altogether and just show up with a large sum of money and make a deposit, what they call an economic contribution, and they are automatically put in the front of the line to be given citizenship or permanent residence. So let's start by acknowledging that fear is a natural response to the unknown. When we encounter something unfamiliar, our brains are wired to be cautious, sometimes even to perceive a threat. Immigration and refugee crises often involve large movements of people and different cultures and unfamiliar languages. This can trigger fears of uncertainty and anxiety, especially in communities already facing economic and social challenges.

Grantley Martelly: 5:53

One key factor contributing to fear is misinformation. We're bombarded with news stories, social media posts and political rhetoric that often paint immigrants and refugees in a negative light. You've seen them, we've all seen them, whether you see them on social media or in the news or in newspapers, or you read about them in articles. They are sometimes portrayed as criminals, job stealers, a drain on public resources. These narratives, even when we know they are false and they are demonstrated as false with statistics and data, can take root and fuel prejudice and discrimination. With statistics and data can take root and fuel prejudice and discrimination. It is critical that we be intentional about the information that we consume and we seek to find reliable sources that present balanced and accurate picture.

Grantley Martelly: 6:44

Another layer of this fear is rooted in economic anxiety. In times of economic hardship, people worry about competition for jobs and resources, and this is a natural concern, but it's easy to scapegoat immigrants and refugees and blaming them for economic wars that are often complex and caused by complicated systemic issues that have existed for a long time and that truly need to be addressed. However, study after study has consistently shown that immigration can boost economic growth and create jobs. Immigrants often bring valuable skills and an entrepreneurial spirit to their communities. We all know about it. We see the restaurants, we see the businesses, we see people contributing. We see kids in school and in university becoming doctors and lawyers, and teachers and ministers and contributing to our community contributing to our community. So the myth that immigrants take away or devalue society has been proven over and over and over. But these myths persist and we must be vigilant at not allowing ourselves to fall for them and to be standing up for truth.

Grantley Martelly: 8:04

Then there's the fear of cultural change. Many people worry that the influx of immigrants and refugees really erode their cultural identity and their traditions. This fear is often tied to a sense of nostalgia of a perceived golden age when things were simpler and more homogeneous. Now we know this is not really true. That golden age is usually a figment of somebody's imagination and historians and political commentators trying to represent something that really didn't exist, because if we go back to those times and we talk to the people who were there, they will tell you that they had the similar fears. They had similar anxieties. They were worried about their children, they were worried about school, they were worried about economics and they also, too, had their fears that were being addressed.

Grantley Martelly: 8:54

So this golden age is usually something that is created to say we can go back there and things to be better than it was. We want them to be better for the future, we want to have a better future, we want to learn from the past and we want to look forward. And we know that cultural exchange can be a source of enrichment and innovation and can bring new ideas to the table and can help enrich our community and our society is to the table and can help enrich our community and our society. So it's not about abandoning our culture, but rather embracing the opportunity to learn from and to connect with others. They're seeking safety and opportunity and a better future for themselves and their families, and isn't this what we all want? Isn't this what we're all striving for? So, instead of viewing them as faceless masses, we need to see them as human beings deserving of compassion and respect. We should get to know people. We should introduce ourselves to people, hear their stories and put a face to who you're referring to, rather than look at them as a mass of people who need to be rejected.

Grantley Martelly: 10:10

It's important to remember that immigrants and refugees are people. They're individuals like us, just like anyone else. They have their own stories, they have dreams, they have fears. They are often forced to leave their homes due to war and persecution, natural disasters and other factors that many times they have not been contributors to. They are basically the casualties of other people's actions. So how do we overcome these fears? It starts with education. We need to challenge the misinformation that promote inaccurate portrayals of immigrants and refugees. It requires empathy we need to listen to their stories and understand their experiences and it demands a willingness to engage in open and honest conversations about complex issues surrounding immigration that truly need to be addressed and that truly need to be made honest and just and equitable for all.

Grantley Martelly: 11:15

People of faith should be leaders in this discovery and this discussion. Along with becoming educated, we're required to align what we learn with our faith and our values. We don't let our values determine our faith. Our faith should determine our values. We cannot say that we love God and, at the same time, hate and discriminate against our neighbors. If we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, then we must first ask the ask-ourself question who is my neighbor and how would I like to be treated or viewed in this circumstance? This is not about ignoring legitimate concerns, but it's about separating fact from fiction and approaching the issue with a sense of humility and humanity. It's about becoming human, human beings again. By building bridges of understanding, we can create a more welcoming and inclusive society for everyone, while at the same time addressing issues of safety and security, economic stability and cultural identity. Safety and security, economic stability and cultural identity. So that's all for this episode.

Grantley Martelly: 12:28

Keep the conversation going in your circles, among your friends, in your faith community, in your schools, in your discussions around the dinner table. Send me an email at abovethenoise24 at gmailcom. Abovethenoise24@ gmail. com, or you can text me directly from the show notes in this episode and I will receive it and respond to you. Consider sharing this episode with a friend and leaving us a review, because reviews help us to stay relevant in the podcasting world, and consider showing your support for this podcast. So until next time, keep the conversation going and let's be honest about it, remember to subscribe and leave us a rating. Ratings are very important to helping our podcast succeed in the podcast universe and helping it become known to other people. Email us your comments at abovethenoise24 at gmailcom. Abovethenoise24@ gmail. com. And follow us on Instagram and Facebook @abovethenoise24. Thank you for listening. Please share this episode with a friend.