The world, we have been taught and have come to believe, was created by God Almighty. Human labor exists wherever there is habitable land mass. Natural resources are not evenly distributed among countries and regions. Colonialism was not generally premised on a flow of development in two directions. Europe was largely the beneficiary of the goodies secured from exploited new territories. Natives and transplanted, sometimes coerced labor, were exploited so that resources could be tapped.

When the conscience of humankind was finally roused enough to demand the end of slavery, genocide against natives, and other forms of injustices by foreign entities, the power structures changed around the globe. But when the smoke cleared and the dust settled, nations and individuals were left in economic and political disarray.

The uneven distribution of natural resources, the one way flow of goods and services secured by outside interlopers using coerced labor, the forced movements of entire cultures and peoples away from their traditional lands and hunting grounds and agrarian lifestyles – all these events have resulted in imbalances in the world economy. People will do what is necessary to feed themselves and their families and thus will gravitate toward regions and countries that offer opportunities for survival or for better lives.

To be sure, even in God’s Good Earth, countries do need to safeguard their borders, their citizens’ jobs, and their economies. But in this era of global economics, exportation of jobs, free trade, and other geo-political activity, the historical movements of people in search of livelihoods will continue. It must be remembered that many great nations, including America, have been founded by immigrants, or in many cases, forcibly acquired from others.

People uprooting and transplanting do not do so whimsically for there are often substantial adverse cultural, familial, and personal consequences. Understanding that human civilization did not occur in neat, orderly, equitable patterns – and that many areas of the world, and millions of people, were displaced as a price of progress by others – will better serve us when we examine immigration issues. When contemporary geo-political factors are considered also, one can have a better perspective on this sometimes volatile issue.