Immigrants use the crumbs to make the dough.

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.” Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.” The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said. He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.” (Matthew 15:21-28)

From a Christian to a Christian, my personal question to POTUS is: Would you rather see that the crumbs go to waste, or would you rather see that they serve to feed the less fortunate?

Sometimes it’s better to admit where we went wrong in our thinking rather than cause others to suffer for the sake of proving that we’re keeping our promises. I think it’s called repentance. Christ gave us the freedom to repent without feeling ashamed of ourselves.

If immigrants are taking the jobs of US-born workers, it might simply be that immigrants value those jobs as their stepping stones to better their living conditions, rather than sit on their hands and expect that either the government or the private sectors owe them something.

My dad’s first job in the US was on the farms in Florida along with snakes. His official position prior was a state job back in Haiti. My mom’s first job here was in the soiled linens of a laundry facility. Her official position prior was self-employment as a dressmaker back in Haiti. My first job, while in high school, was a part-time mailroom clerk. I did it with pride and was very thankful for it. I remember a classmate mentioning how she was interviewed for the same job but simply wasn’t interested. For me, with the very little English that I had learned so far at the high school, I felt that I was blazing through progress. All because I valued the crumbs that were falling off the table of the most fortunate.

I remember the pride that my supervisor took when I showed him my report card from the high school and the encouragement he instilled in me. He took it and showed it to almost every manager at that office.

In Haiti, we have many highly educated young individuals who are living with their parents but are simply waiting for an office job where they get to sit behind a desk, sign some paperwork and receive their checks. Meanwhile, rarely will you find a few of them who would go to a carpenter or a bricklayer to offer their time and become an apprentice.

Likewise, we have many professionals in the US who simply sit on their hands expecting to be handed opportunities thinking that they deserve it simply because they’re natives.

With the crumbs, immigrants make the dough. I thank every administration, every organization, every company, and individual that has ever handed an opportunity to an immigrant not because he’s an immigrant but because he finds great interest in getting the job done. Above all, I thank God through Christ for his mercy, his grace, his love for all nations.