A Latino Christian Reflects on Angel Island

At first, I was not convinced to go on the Angel Island pilgrimage because I asked myself, ‘What would I learn that I'm not already aware of? I already know how it feels to be unwelcomed as an immigrant.’

However, God always surprises, and I felt He wanted me to go. I must say, I enjoyed being with a diverse group of churches, even though they were predominantly Chinese. I just knew that the love of God brought us together. We shared the same faith and background as immigrants to this land, although many of these Chinese had established roots many generations ago.

Something that took me by surprise was during lunch. While listening to the speakers, someone shared their food with me, and I was at that moment reminded of the picture of Jesus preaching while the multitudes ate. While sitting there, we heard many people share their painful detention stories even though they would rather have kept it to themselves. It was good for a new generation to know what had happened to their ancestors...how they had suffered while passing through the island to a new life in this country, yet were grateful to God who didn't abandon them amid their hard circumstances. God sent them saints who provided spiritual, medical, legal and economic help. They dedicated themselves to this because they knew it was wrong for a nation to treat immigrants like this. They saw the detainees as people that God loved and cared for.

When I read the poems etched in the walls of the historic barracks, it was as if the walls were speaking to all of the horrors of being hated as immigrants. I could feel the sadness and frustration these Chinese people went through, feelings they expressed by writing on the walls like graffiti (except much more beautifully). It gave me a clear picture of what individuals had to live with back then, with so many children and adults having to share small beds in a small space. One can only imagine what that was like.

As we neared the end of the trip, and we took the long walk back to wait for the ferry, I overheard someone talk about the immigration problem today, and how unfair it is to use people for labor but then to wish them away. I hope that God touched many more hearts...people whose own family history helps them to have compassion for those being downtrodden by today's anti-immigrant sentiment. May we pray, and act, toward God's deliverance.

The author of this reflection was one of the 400 people who participated in a "Pilgrimage to Angel Island," an inter-faith event co-sponsored by GUM.