Immigration Reform (parte dos)

This immigration issue, I am torn.

Those in need, those displaced by war, these are the heart of Jesus. Helping these is helping Jesus (Matthew 25:31-46).

But I kind of don’t want to. I’m afraid. I’m afraid that all the political turmoil going on in the Middle East will boil over onto our continent. In many ways, I know this is unavoidable, and since U.S. policies did their part in creating this mess, don’t we deserve these natural consequences?

I’m afraid that the drug lords and insane drug trafficking that’s happening in South America will come North. This would also be natural consequences for bad U.S. foreign policy (google it, if you are unaware of the foreign policies to which I’m referring). So if we let people in all willy-nilly, we will no longer be safe. It’s just basic common sense.

Everyone feels safe when talking about DACA/the Dreamers. There is bipartisan support for this; there is even Evangelical support. So that’s where I’m calling bull shit. Let’s be honest, if you can be ok with a Dreamer because you’re able to humanize them instead of turning them into a dangerous war mongering beast, than cookies for you!!!

Which mother or father who brought that Dreamer here do you want to volunteer to kick out? Are they no less human? Because there was not an accessible path to citizenship when they wanted a place where they could thrive, they are forced out? We collectively shrug, this is ok, there are rules here. At least we’re helping Jesus with the little kids who shouldn’t get arrested for trespassing. We arrest their parents, scar the kids for life, and rip apart families. That’s cool. We can’t have compassion for everyone that is Jesus.

Do you not see the duplicity in this? The bipartisan support for Dreamers angers me. It’s nothing more than a token kindness so people can sleep at night.

Let’s reform immigration, let’s make our nation safer, lets make less red tape and more accessible pathways to citizenship for everyone. Let’s get rid of green card lotteries, they’re stupid. Let’s get rid of the arbitrary nature in which some people are let into the U.S. and others are not. There is so much work to be done. And what is Trump’s issue with chain immigration?!!? What’s wrong with a mother coming, getting her degree as a nurse, getting a job and making enough for her husband and children to come? And then the extended family follows, extended family support creates stable people. Stable people with new ideas create a stable economy. It used to be called “family reunification.”

This is not about the token Dreamer, this is about immigrants. Dreamers make you feel safe. Let’s create policies that not only keep us safe but keep immigrants safe. Let’s stop being hypocritical bleeding hearts for kids. People are people no matter how old they are. Mothers and fathers need to be with their children. If you have the courage to stand in the gap and support DACA, then have the courage to care for all foreigners. Just as the Israelites where called to do by their sovereign God (Leviticus 19:33-34, Deuteronomy 10:19), a God who supposedly never changes.

But I could be wrong, maybe we serve a different God now, one who just cares about Dreamers.