United States of America sits on lands that were first occupied by Indigenous Tribes. They are the Native Americans. Today, these same lands are mostly occupied by descendants of immigrants or current immigrants. In this podcast you will be listening to Isaac Cuevas, Director of Immigration and Public Affairs for the Los Angeles, California, Catholic Archdiocese. He is taking us on a verbal trip, first to the border of California with the country of Mexico. Then, we go with him to scenes in downtown Los Angeles, where buses arrive from Texas bringing immigrants who have just recently arrived in the United States. These scenes of immigrant arrivals have been repeated for hundreds of years in the United States and fuels the energy and diverse creativity that moves the USA forward.
The State of California is an example of ancient land history where tribes lived such as Coachella, Tsongva and Aquas Calientes, names all around us in the 21st century and today. From its inception, California’s beauty has exuded a promise of possibilities for the future. It continues to be a magnet of vitality attracting people from all over the world. As Catholic Archbishop Jose H. Gomez of Los Angeles recently wrote in a book called The Jewels of Elul, (in the previous episode) he reminds us of the Golden Rule, “ to love our neighbors as ourselves”. He goes on to declare it, “remains the most powerful force we have to bring healing to our broken world and to unite our divided and polarized society”.
TO CONTACT AND TO VOLUNTEER: go to the website,
LACatholics.org/immigration
Tel. (213) 637-7484
