When is a neighbor a neighbor?

I answered our phone. The voice at the other end asked a simple question.

“Are you Howard Bess?”

I answered, “Yes.”

The voice at the other end continued, “I am Det. Smith (I have changed the name) from Jones (a fictitious town), Ohio. I believe you have been the victim of identity theft.”

I did not feel comfortable talking further with the caller and gave him no additional information. The detective was understanding and gave me his name and other identification and suggested I go to my local police station and have officers there verify his identification. I did so. The caller checked out. I returned his call. He was correct. I had been the victim of identity theft. Here is the story.

About 12 years ago an undocumented person used my Social Security number in order to gain employment in a small factory in Jones, Ohio. I checked my credit record. She had not used my Social Security number for any financial gain. She still worked at the same factory. There she had met a man and they married. They have purchased a home and have one child. I never asked how the identity theft was discovered.

I asked the detective what would happen to her. He had no idea. It was his task to gather information. It has now been more than three months since the detective first called. My mind keeps going back to the wife, mother and good citizen in Jones, Ohio, who is now under investigation as a suspected criminal.

On March 21, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a far-reaching law that will open the door to millions of Americans to have medical insurance. When the vote count in the House reached the magic number of 216, my heart jumped for joy. On March 22, my mind and heart returned to the lady in Jones, Ohio.

Just as our health care system had become a gigantic mess, so also has our immigration policies. Do we dare clean up another mess?

We are a nation of immigrants. Even the Indians who roamed North America when Europeans first arrived were immigrants. Their ancestors came across the land bridge from Asia to what is now Alaska. From there they migrated south and across the American continent. Migration is an ongoing part of human history.

My own ancestors were immigrants from Germany. They all came in search of a better life. They arrived long enough ago that when they stepped off the boats, they were safe from their past. No papers were required. They were instant Americans. My relatives now stretch from Maine to California and from Florida to Alaska. Every move family members have made has been in an effort to find a better and more satisfying life. Human beings have always moved, and the urge to move will never disappear from the human experience.

The lady from Ohio with whom I am now connected has done nothing that my ancestors and relatives have not done. She migrated to a new place in search of a better life. There is one glowing difference. The great land of freedom is investigating her with the assumption that she is a criminal.

There is now an estimated 12 million undocumented people living in the United States. They have been so determined to migrate and find a better life that they have found ingenious ways of beating the system. My unmet friend in Ohio did something unthinkable. She used a set of nine numbers to be able to work.

The immigration policies of the United States are in disarray. Our system is non-functional. We have 12 million witnesses to the absurdity of the laws and rules that are now in place. To add to the insanity, our nation is building hundreds of miles of walls to keep Mexicans from migrating to the United States. We are hiring hundreds of new border guards to enforce the unenforceable.

I am a person of faith. The Bible describes my early faith ancestor as “a wandering Aramean.” The clan that birthed Judaism, Christianity and Islam was a band of wanderers. Once settled, the clan that became Israel set rules about how to treat wandering strangers. Hospitality was their answer.

It is true that Israel did not always live up to the standards it set for itself. At times, Israelites became ruthless killers of strangers. However, there was a long list of prophets who demanded that Israelites live up to their own standards. The written standard was very plain: Love your neighbor.

Jesus, the rabbi from Nazareth, made love of neighbor a cornerstone of his teaching. This is the same Jesus whom we Christians call Lord.

The present American laws and policies that seek to enforce unenforceable immigration rules are not just impossible. They are evil. This is a statement that flows out of my devotion to Jesus from Nazareth.

I am a religious person who lives in a secular nation. America is rightfully called a nation of law. I do not ask my country to adopt my faith. However, I have a responsibility to demand that my immigrant friends be treated as the neighbors that they are. Redoing the immigration laws of our nation is long overdue. Religious people of every kind need to be at the discussion table as we remove the old and find a better way.

I keep thinking about the lady in Ohio.

The Rev. Howard Bess is a retired American Baptist minister, who lives in Palmer. His e-mail address is hdbss@mtaonline.net.