As a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Long Beach, California, I had the privilege of sitting in countless homes of undocumented immigrants. They welcomed me, fed me, listened to me, and loved me. They were my mothers and fathers away from home.
One El Salvadoran woman fed the missionaries a week’s-worth of pupusas on the second Thursday of every month. In Buena Park, two couples — one as young as me and another older than my parents — entrusted me with their wedding plans. A leader in downtown Long Beach gave me courage during the first months of my mission by expressing trust in me every time we met. I learned to love these people whose life experiences were unimaginably different from mine.
My perspective of “illegal” immigration is decidedly colored by these experiences. I don’t see “illegal” immigrants. I see mothers and fathers. I see hard working and loving families. I see my friends.
I recognize that my perspective is one of many. Immigration does not threaten my employment, nor have I been personally affected by the drugs that flow across our border. In sharing what I see, I don’t desire to dismiss what you see. I want to see through your eyes, too.
And, I ask you, take a look through mine. See the human beings we call “illegal.” See the children who fear the deportation of their parents. See the protective mothers, working to save their children from the very violence that frightens you. See the hard working fathers, sacrificing to give their children better opportunities. See the people I love and who so warmly and freely love me. I believe we can — with patience, listening and deliberation — discover solutions that honor what all of us see.
Taylor Webb, Holladay
