Sometime in the spring of 1864, Johann and Barbara Krzmarzick left the village of Deschenitz in Bohemia knowing they would likely never see that home again. Their four sons and a daughter were with them. The family went north to the port of Hamburg. There, they boarded the SS Bavaria bound for the United States.
They traveled in “steerage,” the part of the ship reserved for cargo and the cheapest fares. They were common people, not designated because of any merit system. When my great, great grandparents arrived in New York Harbor on July 1, it was the beginning of our family in America. All Krzmarzicks in America are descended from them.
Johann was listed as “farmer” on the passenger list. Working farmland in Europe then meant laboring as a tenant-leaser. The opportunity to own a farm almost certainly drew him to this country. After going through Castle Garden Immigration Center, they somehow made their way to Wisconsin, where a sixth child was born in Green Bay.
A short time later, the family travelled to Brown County. They settled a farmstead in Home Township, west of New Ulm. Family lore has it that they lived in a dugout on the Cottonwood River for a short time.
I was talking with my cousin, some-times removed, Peggy Tauer. Peggy is a great granddaughter of Johann and Barbara and has researched family history. We know frustratingly little about those first Krzmarzicks in America. We can speculate that the hope for a better life pulled them away from everything they knew. The journey across the ocean and half a continent must have been difficult, even treacherous. Once here, they faced the large task of creating a farm out of the prairie.
Unless you are Native American, there is a story like this in your past: ancestors taking tremendous risks, allured by the promise of this country. It is the American story. In most cases, they were hardscrabble families who were at the bottom of society in their old country. The upper class were not compelled to take such a journey.
There is another family that I don’t know much about, except that they have the same desire to come to America that my great, great grandparents did. I am on the Social Concerns Committee for the Diocese of New Ulm. A while back, Deacon Tim Dolan told our group that the Diocese was exploring the possibility of hosting a refugee family with some other groups.
The lengthy process had begun for that. It was likely to be a Congolese family. Following civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, half a million refugees have been forced from their homes and are living in camps throughout the region. These camps are unsafe places in poor neighboring countries.
Contacts had been made with local employers. Southwest Minnesota has a worker shortage; there would be no problem finding jobs. I started to think this was something I could help with. It is exactly the kind of thing we Catholics should be doing. It was the same American story Johann and Barbara were part of, separated by 150 years.
In September, it was announced that the number of refugees allowed to resettle in the United States would be cut from 100,000 to 45,000. Our family was in the group that was cut.
45,000 is the smallest number of refugees taken by our country since 1980. The Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations all supported a larger number. This comes at a time when there are over 22 million refugees in the world. They are in that condition through no fault of their own. More than half are children.
When one sees a number like “22 million” in print it is easy to glaze over. Don’t. Stop for a moment and think of these people as real as those you live with, as real as your children and grandchildren. Refugees are all in some heartbreaking plight. Imagine your children or grandchildren in that situation.
To be honest, it angered me that our local effort was halted. Countries like Bangladesh and Turkey are taking in hundreds of thousands of refugees. Meanwhile, 45,000 is .2% of the world’s refugees. Is that the best we can do?
The refugee issue is part of a larger debate over immigration. There are those who see immigration as something to be feared and opposed. That side is winning right now as immigration programs are all being slashed.
We are told that immigrants bring crime and take jobs. But the crime rate among immigrants is lower than the general population. And no refugee has ever been involved in terrorism. These are simply facts. As for jobs, immigration has always backfilled low wage jobs that are essential to agriculture and service fields.
In 1981, President Reagan released a Statement on Immigration and Refugees. It included this: “We must recognize that both the United States and Mexico have historically benefited from Mexicans obtaining employment in the United States. Illegal immigrants in considerable numbers have become productive members of our society. Those who have established equities in the United States should be recognized and accorded legal status.”
I showed that to a friend. He said any politician who said that now would be tarred and feathered.
Reagan again: “More than any other country, our strength comes from our own immigrant heritage and our capacity to welcome those from other lands. We shall continue America’s tradition as a land that welcomes peoples from other countries.”
As citizens we need to weigh these issues. As Christians, we are called to a higher standard. The Bible is filled with exhortations to care for the alien and the foreigner. In the Old Testament we are told, “In whatever tribe a foreigner resides, you are to give them an inheritance declares the Sovereign Lord.” In the New Testament, we are told, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.”
We will be measured as Christians by this. We are to care about the 22 million refugees. We are to care about the Haitians and Salvadorans who are being forced to return to their struggling countries. We are to care about families being torn apart here in America to achieve some imaginary security.
In this debate, I’ll stand with the Bible and Ronald Reagan.