Letter to the Editor: Treating immigrants as political pawns just despicable
In Matthew 25:35-40, Jesus tells a parable about separating the righteous from the unrighteous and says of the righteous, “’For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’”
Both Gov. Greg Abbott in Texas and Florida’s Gov. Ron De Santis claim that their Christian faith is important to them and that it informs their political decisions. So, do they take this passage to mean that the Christian way to deal with an immigration crisis in their states is to use immigrants as culture war pawns, shipping them off to areas where liberal Democrats have been elected? Is that really what “I was a stranger and you invited me in,” means? Granted, Jesus does not say explicitly that when people from poor southern countries come to the richest country on earth seeking a better life, Texas and Florida should welcome them, but is the point of this passage really that hard to understand?
The Biden administration and congressional Democrats and Republicans alike are continuing Washington’s decades-long tradition of doing a lousy job addressing immigration, and De Santis has accurately described the situation at our southern border as a disaster.
That being recognized, why do politicians like Abbott and De Santis pursue practices designed to make it worse? Instead of pandering to voters they believe are anti-immigrant and anti-people of color, why not get together with the congressional delegations representing their states to propose constructive actions that reflect the values they profess to believe. To dehumanize immigrants who come to America because they believe the claim we make about ourselves as a "land of opportunity" and treat them as objects to be used to further their personal ambitions is despicable.
Frank BarefieldHolland
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Letter to the Editor: Treating immigrants as political pawns just despicable
