I cannot stay silent in the face of President Trump’s insatiable cruelty.

To be clear, as a patriotic American, I value national security, including controlled borders. However, I must object to this administration’s deporting hundreds of immigrants willy-nilly, with no counsel or other due process, sending many into extreme danger.

But if those people entered this country illegally, why should you care about them?

Consider:

Abrego Garcia. During his teens, he fled gang violence in El Salvador and entered the US illegally. But he worked things out with Immigration and now has specific permission to stay. Garcia has every right to live here as a law-abiding resident. Even if a judge orders him deported, he must not be sent to El Salvador. And no judge has issued any such order. There’s no evidence of association with any violent gang. Garcia is a husband and father with a job like anyone else. Yet ICE sent him straight to a torture prison in El Salvador, the very country he was legally safe from.
But who cares? As an immigrant, he’s just one of “Those” People, right?

Afghan Christians, notably those members of Apostles Church in Raleigh, NC. These families fled the Taliban’s religious persecution, received humanitarian parole, and have become valued members of their church and community. But Trump’s DHS sent letters ordering them to go back to Afghanistan, to leave the US within the week. Since their deportation to Afghanistan would certainly result in Taliban militants torturing/raping/butchering them, this order amounts to human trafficking. To anyone with a heart, regardless of spiritual belief, sending them straight to their abusers would be unthinkable cruelty.
And if you are a Christian, these brothers and sisters who love our Savior are “Our People.”

So… Who Cares? If this administration gets away with illegally deporting residents because no one cares about “Those” People, and gets away with illegally deporting Christians because we don’t care, even if they are “Our” People… What’s to stop him from coming after “Us People?”

And when he does, who will be left to care?

As the prophet Micah wrote centuries ago, the Lord requires of people only “to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” With that in mind, I have written to my US representative and senators, pleading with them to rein in the administration’s unjust, merciless, lawless acts.

I stand with grace and mercy.

Thanks for reading,

Jan