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Perspectivas/Occasional Papers • Fall 2006Perspectivas/Occasional Papers • Fall 2006hermanas y hermanos (sisters and brothers). This is not alwayswell-received. The proceedings of a national symposium ofCatholic Hispanic ministries reports,This focus has led, at times, to tensions between newimmigrants and U.S.-born Hispanics. The recent influxof new immigrants from Mexico and Central Americainto areas traditionally populated by Puerto Ricans,Cubans, or Mexican Americans is presenting new challengesto Hispanic ministry in dioceses throughout thecountry. Adding to this complexity are other ethnicgroups with comparatively small migrations, such asLatinos of African descent who have long sufferedracial prejudice, as well as indigenous peoples fromrural regions of Mexico and other countries who maypossess a low level of Spanish literacy. 16Those of us who have struggled to arrive in the middle canalso be threatened, and solidarity can be an impediment to oursocial mobility. However there are signs of hope. A recent surveyby the Center for the Study of Latino Religion shows that “74 percentof Latinos want their churches or religious organizations toaid undocumented immigrants even when providing such help isi l l e g a l … ” 1 7Changing the RhetoricThere is a disturbing trend in immigration rhetoric, as exemplifiedby news commentator Lou Dobbs, to refer to those whomigrate in dehumanizing terms. No matter one’s position onimmigration reform, there is a need to examine critically the publiclanguage used to refer to people on the move, especially withrespect to those of us who settle in communities and nations withoutthe necessary documentation. The ongoing public rants thatplay on the fears and insecurities of citizens unjustly categorize56im/migrants at best as burdens on society and at worst as potentialterrorists. Labeling human beings as illegals and/or aliensdesensitizes individuals and communities to our shared humanitythat is grounded in our being created in the divine image.Humans are not illegal, actions are; and migration is a humanright with responsibilities not a criminal act. Furthermore theassociation of those of us who are migrants and immigrants asd i s e a s e -b e a re r s , especially in this age terrified of pandemics,harkens back to Nazi rhetoric about Jews and others deemeddetrimental to the state, and recalls images of braceros in a cloudof DDT being fumigated prior to entering the United States tow o r k . 18The cost of collective dehumanization has been paidmany times over in human suffering and the stains remain on thec h u rc h e s , communities and nations who remained passive inthe presence of injustice.But language can create distance even when used by those withthe best of intentions. There is a need for us as theologians, ministers,educators and scholars to examine critically our own use oflanguage in our scholarship, teaching, preaching and ecclesialstatements. For example, there is a tendency to use the third personwhen referring people on the move. We are church and theyare the stranger, we make an option for them!This carelessness with language is also evident in ecclesial documentsthat reflect on diversity. Too often diversity is synonymouswith difference and difference means the immigrant, theminority or the under-represented plurality. Diversity is a condition—ofour humanity, our globe, our nations, our churches. It isnot a characteristic of some who are in our midst; it is who we allare. The words of Chicano author Luis Alberto Urrea express thisfar more poetically. He writes in his book Nobody’s Son: “My lifeisn’t so different from yours. My life is utterly alien compared toyours. You and I have nothing to say to each other. You and Ishare the same story. I am the Other. I am you.” 1957