The Land of the Free… But not the Home of the Refugee
President Donald J. Trump has recently signed an executive order to stop the current influx of refugees from entering into the United States. For the next 90 days, 120 days, or indefinitely many refugees will have to wait to enter into America. Here’s more information on how this impacts refugees:
What does the Executive Order mean for refugees?
- The order suspends refugee resettlement for the next 120 days, with some exceptions for religious minorities. This means no refugees will be allowed to be resettled in the United States for the next 120 days unless they receive a special exception. It may also stop refugee processing for 120 days. This means overseas interviews and background checks may be delayed.
- The order suspends all refugees from Syria from coming to the United States. This means no refugees from Syria will be allowed to enter the United States until there is a change to the Executive Order. There is no set time period for this.
- The order also bans individuals from certain countries from entering the United States for 90 days. These countries include: Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Syria, Libya, Somalia, Yemen. After 90 days, the ban may be lifted for some people. If you are a from one of these countries, you should not travel at this time, even if you have a green card. If you have a family member or friend who is already abroad, they should talk to a lawyer first. Please contact: info@refugeerights.org
- The order decreases the total number of refugees who can come to the United States in 2017 to 50,000 but still allows for 25,000 more arrivals. We do not know which refugees will be able to enter or when refugees will be allowed to enter the U.S. for resettlement.
I personally do not agree with this decision. I have gotten to know many refugee families over the years and have heard many of their stories. Many of these families have been persecuted because of their beliefs. Also many families have been separated from each other for months. This executive order will prevent many families from reconnecting with each other for even longer.
In President Trumps order it is stated “the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of Homeland Security, is further directed to make changes… to prioritize refugee claims made by individuals on the basis of religious-based persecution” At first glance I think this is great. Christians in persecuted countries are being made a priority. But then I stopped to think, ‘what about the Muslims that are being persecuted alongside the Christians?’ Don’t they deserve the same opportunity to escape persecution?
“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” ~Matthew 22:38–39
The passage goes on to ask the question, ‘who is my neighbor’ and Jesus answers that question with a parable; the Parable of the Good Samaritan. The story depicts a Jewish man who gets beat up and left for dead. Both a Jewish priest and a Jewish temple assistant pass by this man, their fellow Jew, and leave him there. It was by the compassion of a ‘despised’ Samaritan who had come by and stopped to help the Jewish man. The Good Samaritan took the man to get medical treatment and covered his financial needs. The Good Samaritan put aside his own agenda to meet to pressing need of a man who had suffered persecution. It was through compassion that saved this man’s life. “So which of the three is our neighbor” Jesus asked and the man replied “the one who has shown mercy.” Then Jesus commanded “Go and do likewise.” The bible commands us to love our neighbors. We might not particularly like our neighbor and we might even despise them; however, we should love nonetheless.
Here’s a modern day version of the Parable of the Good Samaritan… Samuel is a man I have had the privilege of getting to know over these past five years. He is a man who was persecuted for his Christian faith in Somalia. And he is a father of three wonderful children. My Lancaster, PA church has helped Samuel and his family escape the clutches of the Muslims who were trying to kill Samuel. The only way Samuel was able to escape Somalia was by the help and support of his Muslim friend. Essentially his friend had traded his life in exchange for Samuel’s because a few weeks later he was murdered. I tell this story to point out the fact that many Muslims are getting persecuted alongside Christians. While I agree we should be working at getting Christian refugee’s out of the harms way, I also think we need to be providing a safe haven for the Muslims who are also in harms way.
Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times, weighs in on this topic by writing,
“By giving preference to Christians over Muslims, religious leaders have said the executive order pits one faith against another. By barring any refugees from entering the United States for nearly four months, it leaves people to suffer longer in camps, and prevents families from reuniting.”
While I think it is great that Christians are being given a priority, as stated earlier, we need to consider the persecution all refugees might be facing. We cannot limit of attention to just one group. Rather we need to be working to give help and support to the needy. Psalms 82:4 states “ Rescue the poor and helpless; deliver them from the grasp of evil people.”
J. Ron Byler, who is the Executive Director of Mennonite Central Committee, also provides insight on this matter. Byler states,
As Anabaptist Christians, we have long held that governments must protect the religious freedom of all people, not just Christians. We strongly oppose any discrimination against refugees, including discrimination based on religion or nationality. Our nation must keep its doors open to all people who are in need and face persecution.
The church has done a tremendous job at providing help and support to refugee families. An organization called World Relief “empowers the local church to serve the most vulnerable” This and many other Christian organizations have been serving refugee families for years. The recent turn of events when President Trump made the executive order to ban refugees for the time being has caused set-back for many of these good organizations.
Also stated on the World Relief webpage, “The American tradition of welcoming families who come to the United States to start their lives again in safety and dignity is our heritage. The American people — most of whom can trace their own families’ stories through a similar immigrant journey in search of freedom — are a hospitable people.” America is a safe haven for people to go to. America is the land of opportunity. America itself was built by men from a foreign country. America is the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave. I am proud to call myself an American. However, like most people, I cannot agree with all the decisions made in the country I love. I can however continue to pray for those who are being persecuted.
I wish the title of this blog could be ‘The Land of the Free and the Home of the Refugee’. However, for the time-being we need to pay attention to whats right in front of us. In closing please remember to pray for all the refugees during their time of crisis. Please remember to pray for all the families that are separated from their loved ones. Please remember to pray for our leaders to have discernment in their decision making.
And for us lets pray these words together…
God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.
Scott Silva
References
