To the editor:

Thank you for your editorial entitled, “Region will face consequences to ICE raids” in the March 29 Enterprise. I appreciate your naming the truth that “there are consequences to every [executive] order;” that our region “is losing valuable contributions to our community through those who are working here for a better life …” and that this “has significant ramifications for our economy this summer.”

As a priest and person of faith, I would add that these consequences are not only economic, but moral in nature as well. All three of the great Abrahamic faiths — Judaism, Christianity and Islam — call us to welcome immigrants and treat them with kindness. For example, Leviticus 19:33-34 states, “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” And Jesus himself spoke of inheritance in the kingdom of God as coming in part through our giving food to the hungry, drink to the thirsty and welcome to the stranger or foreigner.

Mistreatment of our immigrant neighbors — or indifference to their mistreatment by immigration authorities — is not only bad for business, it is unkind and immoral. Instead, we should be working to protect them, and helping to ensure their safety and wellbeing in this beautiful place we all call home.

Toward that end, I invite you and your readers to consider three calls to action: First, print and share “Red Cards” (found here: ilrc.org/red-cards-tarjetas-rojas) with your immigrant friends and neighbors. These cards outline how all people in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. Second, join me and others on April 10 from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Tupper Lake Emergency Services Building for a listening session on how to help make the Adirondacks more welcoming to all, including our immigrant neighbors. And third, be in touch. As individuals we can do little, but together we can make a significant impact. Email me at rector@sainteustace.church to connect.

(The views and opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities I represent.)

The Rev. Ken Hitch

Lake Placid