Sam Spade's San Francisco

The immigration issue is a San Francisco issue. San Franciscans of Caucasian - European ancestry and origin are a minority in San Francisco. San Francisco is largely an Asian city and also very much an Hispanic city. For most San Franciscans the immigration debate hits home hard.

There are a lot of voices demanding tighter security along our borders and a "tough love" approach to people living in the United States without benefit of official sanction. These voices are heard every night on network news, but what about the people of San Francisco? We march to different drums. Ours are drums of peace, not drums of war.


What do San Franciscan's believe?

The majority of my fellow San Franciscans are committed to certain basic and fundamental convictions. They are:

1) We believe in the inherent worth and dignity of every person.

2) There must be justice, equity and compassion in all our decision-making.

3) The goal of the San Francisco experience is to build a community that truly does offer peace, liberty and justice for everyone in our City.

4) We have and we intend to continue developing respect for the interdependent web of existence of which we are a part.


Rev. Bill Sinkford

Rev. Bill Sinkford recently put some of these ideals into words. Bill no longer lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, but he is from here and he graduated from the Union Theological School's Starr King School for the Ministry, which is affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley.

His current job requires him to live in Boston where he serves as President of the Unitarian Universalist Association, a faith community with over 1,000 member churches in the United States. They are represented in San Francisco by First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco.

Here is an excerpt of Bill's statement on the immigration debate. It is well worth reading:

"People of many faiths have been moved by the current debate over the immigration and labor policies that present a profound dilemma for our nation. We are seeing that our willingness to ignore the injustices that maintain our economic system weakens the moral fabric of our society. We know that illegal immigration is driven by two factors: the prospect of economic opportunity for the newcomers, and the voracious need of American businesses for cheap labor."

"Those of us lucky enough to be born into US citizenship can thank our ancestors, some of whom came here in bondage, but many of whom saw a shining City on a Hill and were inspired by its promise of freedom and opportunity. Today's immigrant workers are following that same beacon, and they come to this land filled with hope. That hope gradually dims, however, as they struggle to support loved ones back home while hiding in the shadows of US society. As years pass, family reunions are deferred and the American Dream is denied. In the meantime, our comfortable middle-class standard of living is secured at the price of these workers' hopes. As a result, America has, once again, created a permanent under-class of residents who are refused the dignity and civil protections that come with citizenship. To people of conscience, this situation is intolerable."


Mayor Gavin Newsom

San Francisco is tremendously fortunate to have one of our own sons, fourth-generation San Franciscan Gavin Newsom, as our mayor.

Commenting on the current debate in Congress on immigration reform, the Mayor said, "I call on Congress to pass a common-sense immigration bill, which creates a clear path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented workers who already work, pay taxes, and contribute to our economy."

The Mayor expressed opposition to any efforts to criminalize undocumented workers or the people who help them. "Today, 1 in 3 San Franciscans were born overseas. We should not make felons out of those who are working hard in our country, nor should we build a new Berlin Wall along our border with Mexico," said Mayor Newsom.


References and story tools:

Statement by Rev. Bill Sinkford on immigration rights here.

Mayor Newsom's statement in support of immigration rights here.

The Unitarian Universalist Association statement on immigration rights here.

ACLU statement on immigration rights here.

Immigration Rights, an LGBT organization dedicated to promoting immigration justice here.

American Friends Service Committee action for immigration rights here.

The City of San Francisco Immigration Rights Commission here.

The Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area here.

San Francisco Chronicle article and links on the immigration controversy here.

Immigration Solidarity Network here.

First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco here.