Making America Great Again and a Biblical Worldview
What are some real options the U.S. can take when it comes to the immigrant caravan? One way or the other, the U.S. must deal with this influx of immigrants wanting a new start in America. Deploying troops to secure the border and keep order is an important measure. We must control the influx of these people into the U.S. so we they can begin their journey of becoming a United States citizen. But, do we have a smooth path to citizenship? Do we want to have a smooth path to citizenship? It seems the U.S. is fine with sending money to foreign nations to help combat problems faced in those countries as long as we don’t allow those dirty, starving, hopeless, murderous gang members to our beautiful, loving, helpful and perfect country. But in all seriousness, what happened to the great melting pot? What happened to “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” What happened to that lamp beside the golden door? Was it stolen? Stolen by the huddled masses? Crushed by those wanting to breathe the air of freedom and opportunity? Why have we closed the golden door to allow the homeless and tempest-tossed to starve and die? Has the U.S. become so arrogant and heartless that we will threaten the lives of people who want to experience the “American dream” and live free from the oppression, violence and lack of hope in their home country, to walk thousands of miles to the doorstep of hope and freedom only to be told they are not wanted. Only to be told they don’t have to go home but they can’t come here.
The immigrants are coming to America not in secret but rather in a highly publicized march to freedom. Hopefully, they are asking for asylum and hoping for legal entry. They could cross the border illegally and still live a better life than the one they are escaping. They are coming knowing they may be placed in a detainment center, which is basically a jail, and later possibly be released into the United States with a GPS tracking device strapped to their ankle while waiting for an immigration judge to decide whether they are worthy to enter the U.S.
Perhaps the asylum process is too slow. Perhaps, and rightly so, the process is currently overwhelmed and filled to the max but, why is President Trump intentionally creating discontent and fear telling these people to go back home? Why not work with the President of Mexico and help build asylum centers on both sides of the border where people can live in dignity while waiting for asylum approval, so they don’t have to live like prisoners.? Why not send a delegation to meet with caravan organizers to talk about the general intent the immigrants? They might find out that some or most are not going all the way to the U.S. A delegation can iron out some of the concerns and possible problems that may be created at the border rather than creating fear and forcing people to illegally enter rather than request asylum.
The United States has always been a country which pulls together and works to solve problems quickly but, Trump has lowered the number of asylum seekers who can be processed. What are we saying to Mexico when we send aid but help create a bottleneck at the border which causes a massive back up of people south of the border?
Asylum is a process of requesting entry into a country for various reasons. These people are caught between two countries when they are placed in holding facilities. Prior to 2018, these people would be held in these facilities for only a few weeks then released into the U.S. pending court processing which would allow them to remain in the country to seek citizenship. In 2018, President Trump initiated a policy of separating children from their families which was later stopped however Trump has since restricted the number of people and families allowed to be processed. Is he trying to singlehandedly completely stop the influx of people coming from south of the border?
Asylum seekers must take what is called a “Credible Fear Test” in order to be allowed into the U.S.1 Applicants must prove that they have somehow been harmed or threatened for religious or racial reasons. There shouldn’t be much to prove. The U.S. government is keenly aware of the struggles people experience in Central America. People in those countries are threatened every day. Threatened by gangs, drug cartels and drug traffickers. Approximately 90% pass the Credible fear test however less than 10% are actually released into the U.S.2 leaving the remaining 80% sent back to their home country. Obviously, there is a giant disconnect between the Credible Fear Test taken at the border and the final outcome in immigration court.
Drastic options have been taken by the Trump administration in an attempt to stop the caravan from even making it to the border. The deploying of over 5000 active duty troops to the border in an attempt to maintaining order is a prudent move. The actions of the caravan at both northern and southern borders of Guatemala shows the determination of those wishing to come into the U.S., if walking thousands of miles was not determination enough. Keeping the border secure and orderly certainly should be the concern of the President but I wonder what orders the troops have been given. Are they given less lethal weapons or are they trained to use less lethal force?
Additional forces should be deployed to the border in order to keep peace and not allowing people to cross into the U.S. illegally. Presidents G.W. Bush and Obama did the same during their administrations. We will have to see how many people actually make it to the border. According to a Washington Post article some of the caravan members are stopping short of the U.S.3 and will attempt to settle in northern Mexico.
The president has relied upon his Travel Ban in order to take the actions he has taken so far as well as using the Immigration and Nationality Act, Section 212(f) claiming the immigrants are not eligible for asylum claiming it “would be contrary to the national interest” and “detrimental to the interests of the United States.” The scope of Section 212 outlines the instance of health concerns, vaccinations and criminal background checks for the “aliens”. These provisions outlined in Section 212 require checks, documentation and health checks, not a blanket statement denying entry in the U.S. based upon trumped up allegations in order to deny access into the U.S. (No pun intended. Or was it?). Unfortunately, it’s not a pun. Trump openly admitted he has no proof of the allegations he made of that criminals and unrulies are part of the caravan. That statement, and others, will certainly be part of the argument in court that Trump is allowed to use Section 212(f). It has been said that the U.S. is a country of laws and I agree. So, shouldn’t presidents stop trying to legislate from the Oval Office and allow our country of laws work out the problem? Shouldn’t presidents have faith in our legal system and allow it to work?
But, why call it an “invasion”? Why should our president sound tough? Some say it’s because President Trump is a bully and he is trying to bully the immigrants into turning back. Sure, our immigration system is not set up to handle this kind of influx into the U.S. maybe that’s because the immigration system has become so convoluted and slow but, our president should not be saying that no immigrant is going to come to the U.S. That’s only inviting them to attempt to cross illegally. These people really have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
We’ve debated immigration for decades and we have built fences, limited the number of immigrants into the country and have passed laws that make it more difficult to enter the U.S. Should the U.S. close the borders and completely restrict people coming into the country or totally open borders? Let’s look at this topic from the viewpoint of Karl Marx and Max Weber.
For different reasons, both believed that hard work promotes social change however, Weber believed in biblical, protestant morals and ethics. Weber believed a society prospers through hard work and good ideas. Marx believed societal prosperity occurs through hard work which is exemplified in what the worker produces. It seems that Marx would not be a fan of open borders because a group of people without the national unity and identical work ethic could come to that nation and completely disrupt unity. Weber with his protestant background would want open borders in order to allow those from other countries to have a better opportunity. An opportunity to escape poverty and take care of their family. These two approaches exemplifies the sentiment in the U.S. right now but add in a racial factor and we have a more complex issue.
So, what should we do? As I have mentioned in other blogs racism is a problem in the U.S. but what I am finding is racism is a greater problem than I ever acknowledged before. If we are a country of equals, then why are certain ethnic groups unable to access certain privileges that others are entitled? I used to think privileges were available to everyone regardless of their ethnicity but the older I get the more I realize I have been in a bubble for all of these years and chose not to be informed with the facts and even take what facts I did know and argue that they are skewed in some way.
But, the facts are there: ethnic groups do not have the availability of all rights and privileges as others. These ethnic groups suffer from a mis-distribution of goods. Goods like good education, good housing opportunities, secure communities and much more. It’s no wonder Bernie Sanders wants to make goods more accessible to all ethnic groups. I just don’t know how he intends to pay for it. Perhaps, we need someone like Bernie to shake things up but, some of us voted for “The Donald” thinking the same thing. He has shakened things up but, not the way some of us had hoped.
So, what are the answers? I certainly don’t have all of the answers but when we have a biblical worldview that is honed with the love of Christ then we can’t go wrong. A biblical worldview that is centered on loving God, others and yourself. (Mark 12:30–31) The constitution established that man, all of mankind, has “certain inalienable rights” and shouldn’t everyone have the availability of those inalienable rights? Shouldn’t everyone have the opportunity to legally exercise their inalienable right to pursue and contribute to a society in which they have access to “certain inalienable rights”? Inalienable rights they do not have in their home country?
If we allow the immigrants to enter the United States by the letter of the law, then that may be a good start. Sure, border patrol agents can’t handle the influx of people who are approaching the U.S. but perhaps this is a time for both sides of the isle to finally come together and work on something that will certainly change America one way or the other. Both sides of the isle can come together and logically and rationally pick apart the immigration laws, streamline the process so there aren’t as many people roaming the streets of America disconnected from the opportunities we have to offer in this country. But, we also have to work on re-lighting the torch in the hand of Lady Liberty and once again re-open the door to the huddled masses, so America can be great again. Not only can we be the Good Samaritan but also the Inn keeper. (Luke 10:25–37)
1. https://qz.com/1332827/asylum-seekers-in-the-us-take-a-credible-fear-test-ninety-percent-pass/
