I don’t normally get into politics on a public forum, but I need to get some things off of my chest. The latest news about children being separated from their parents at the border appalls me. I have some thoughts.
Without getting into what I think about the Trump administration’s myriad of scandals, this issue is near and dear to my heart as a parent. It terrifies me to think of my children being ripped out of my arms. Losing contact afterwards is unthinkable.
Jeff Sessions referred to Romans 13 when he stated “obey the laws of the government because God has ordained them for the purpose of order.” I could not find that exact quote in any of the translations I have, but the actual verse he is referencing is likely:
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. (Romans 13:1–2 (NIV))
It would seem that Sessions is arguing that when a person enters our country illegally, they should expect the consequences. However, this ignores expectations of due process. Our government is assuming that these people are guilty and applying punishment sight-unseen.
Romans 13 also states:
10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. (Romans 13:10 (NIV))
We live in an increasingly shrinking world. All people are our neighbors, in a sense. Is taking one’s children away from them “love?” Is it doing “no harm?” It is difficult to predict the long-term consequences, but I don’t envision many good ones.
Trump speaks of MS-13 as the immigration bogeyman, the reason that we should not be allowing anybody into our country. I will not argue the merits of this assertion here. Mistreating the children here for a better life does have the potential to create more radical gang members, not fewer, though.
This has had me reflecting me on my father’s childhood. He was born in Hungary and moved to the United States as a teenager during the cold war era, when people feared the communist threat. His move here was not easy; Hungary was well entrenched behind the Iron Curtain at that time. He and his family were heavily vetted and had to jump through many hoops to be allowed to come to this country.
I recognize that his experience was different, and that he went through different channels to arrive here. He was, however, fleeing his country and circumstances in search of a better life, just as those arriving at our borders are today. His family was blessed with the time and resources that they needed to go through the process. Many others are not, and have not been, so lucky.
I cannot imagine how different his life would have been, had the authorities separated him from his parents when he arrived. He may not have met his wife. I may not be here to write this today. An entire generational line may have been changed, or have never existed.
Having children is the most basic of human rights. It is the first command that God gave to man. (Genesis 1:28) Humans were not created to have children and then abandon them. We all need parents to care for us, to raise us, and to teach us right from wrong. A government cannot do that. Our government is effectively doing the opposite by forcing these children to fend for themselves.
I find the heartlessness of the current policy incomprehensible. As a father, I do not understand how the administration can be as cold and callous when dealing with so many people who have done no more than hope for a better life for their children.
To sum up: the United States was once thought of as a country people could come to in hopes of a better life. How does one start anew without their closest loved ones? How do the children learn to love and trust?
Next time: “On the conditions in the holding facilities”