Tag: deportations

Mr. President, When the Courts Rule Against You, Do Not Throw a Temper Tantrum. File Your Appeals, Then Trust and Obey.

One week ago, three airplanes, supposedly containing immigrants belonging to Venezuelan gangs, took off from U.S. territory and flew to El Salvador where the passengers were placed in a huge, infamous prison in that country. These deportations took place under the alleged authorization of the 1798 Alien Enemies Act (which has only been invoked during wartime). Federal Judge James Boasberg, concerned that due process had not taken place, ordered that the planes not take off, or if already in the air, that they turn around and come back with their passengers to the U.S.

Mr. President, you threw a temper tantrum, more like a spoiled three-year old brat than someone who aspires to be a “great president”. Rather than dealing with the evidence, you labeled Boasberg as an “extreme leftist lunatic” (even though he was first appointed by Republican President Bush). You called him a “rogue” who should be impeached (although as you know an impeachment needs 67 votes in the Senate).

For your information, our government has three co-equal branches: the Legislative, which makes the laws and has the power of the purse; the Executive, which executes the legislation (here, “executes” means “implements”, not “kills”); and the Judiciary, which interprets the law and applies the penalties when violations take place. The Judiciary is like the umpire who calls “balls and strikes”. The courts don’t always get it right, but the beauty and wisdom of our government is that citizens can appeal the decisions they don’t like and take them to an Appellate Court, or all the way to the Supreme Court.

To be honest, your administration has not complied with Judge Boasberg’s orders. The judge has demonstrated great patience by extending additional time to your staff to provide the basic information regarding when the planes took off and landed, and when your administration became aware of the orders. Your administration is stalling and defying the court. Then yesterday, you came out and said you never signed the document invoking the Alien Enemies Act. Who forged your signature?

Mr. Trump, you swore to defend the Constitution. Do not, by your actions, allow our country to fall into a constitutional crisis. File your appeals if you wish. Trust the process. Obey the court orders.

Defending the Immigrant: Thanksgiving, Father Abraham, and Brother Jesus

The recent election reveals a lot about us in this country. Polls show that immigration was one of the most important issues and that up to half of our population would like to see millions of undocumented immigrants deported. If you are in favor of this massive deportation, I write this brief article with the hope of changing your mind. I appeal to your conscience, your sense of integrity, and if you are a religious person, your understanding of Biblical teaching.

Let’s begin with Thanksgiving. According to our national folklore, the first Thanksgiving took place in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621. Members of the Wampanoag indigenous people shared food (venison, bass, mussels) with the pilgrims. Whether it occurred exactly in this way is not that important for this post. What is important to remember is that on the eve of the European colonization of the Americas (by the Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, and others), these lands were under the stewardship of the indigenous people tribes. Not many Europeans asked the indigenous leaders for “permission” to occupy and settle in the land. In other words, they were “illegal” or “undocumented” immigrants, although they tried to justify their actions by affirming “manifest destiny” or other religious arguments. Others claimed that although their government was wrong, they were individually innocent. Over the next centuries, treaties were made…, and frequently broken. The result was that almost the totality of the land previously under the stewardship of indigenous people was taken by Europeans and their descendants. I am a descendant of those European colonists and a beneficiary of that unjust land takeover. Most of my fellow citizens are in a similar situation. It would be hypocrisy for me to glory in this pursuit of the “American Dream” of my predecessors and to deny other immigrants that same opportunity.

Our national history regarding immigrants has been quite checkered. Protestant immigrants from western or northern nations of Europe have been very privileged. Others, not quite so much. At various times, Italians, Poles, Jews, the Irish, Mexicans, the Chinese, and others have been scapegoated, as if they were the cause of all our country’s ills (as claimed today). Some suffered outright persecution and deportation. Of course, the capture and enslavement of Africans was our nation’s most horrific evil committed against foreigners. If we were honest, we would confess our national sins against immigrants.

Now, let’s turn to the Scriptures. “Father Abraham” is recognized as the founding patriarch of the three great monotheistic religions in our world: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. According to the sacred texts, God called Abraham to leave his father’s house to go to a distant land (Genesis 12). He became an immigrant “par excellence”. God told Abe that those who welcomed and blessed him would also receive the Lord’s blessing. Along the way, Abe made many mistakes. (Like some contemporary immigrants, Abe told some lies to save his own skin.) Nevertheless, people in other countries forgave him and blessed him… and Abraham became a blessing to others, just like God had promised.

Some will say that God’s promise to Abraham was quite specific and does not apply to immigrants today. Not true… at least not for those who want to follow the God of the Bible. The Scriptures tell us that all people, including all immigrants, are made in God’s image, and therefore, have immense value. Because immigrants are frequently subject to mistreatment (just like orphans and widows), God defends them and provides them with special protections (Leviticus 25:35, Deuteronomy 14:29, the entire book of Ruth the immigrant, and Malachi 3:5). The Lord Jesus is even more radical in his teaching: “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me… what you have done to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you have done to me” (Matthew 25:31-46). The way we treat an immigrant is, in fact, how we treat Jesus himself.

How should we treat the millions of undocumented immigrants in our midst? The overwhelming majority of them are working in gainful employment. Our economy, especially the agricultural and construction sectors, needs immigrant labor. It would suffer greatly if millions of immigrants were deported. Undocumented parents would be separated from their children, many of which are U.S. born citizens. A good solution would be to follow the contours of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, carved out by President Reagan and Congress. Let them regularize their legal status, pay a penalty, continue in their jobs, and most importantly, keep their families intact. A good first step would be to increase the pathways for legal immigration.

Let’s do better in the future than we have in the past!