One of the most frequent responses I have been given by many American Christians when I ask them about what Trump plans to do with migrants and refugees is that they deserve what is coming to them because they are criminals. That is, they claim, despite all the evidence to the contrary, that all Trump wants to do is deport all migrants who are here illegally, and that because they are here illegally, they are criminals who deserve to be deported. They also say, because they are criminals, Trump has the right to use any means he deems necessary to remove them. Whenever I hear this, I am abhorred by the wanton disregard of the humanity of those who will be rounded up. How can someone claim Jesus as their Lord, Jesus, who was rounded up and executed for being a criminal, not see how such an attitude runs contrary to being a Christian?
It is obvious to me that many of those who support Trump and his cruelty do not understand immigration law. They do not understand, moreover, how Trump, in the way he undermined immigration courts, made it impossible for many who are in the United States legally to receive permanent residence due to the backlog of cases in immigration courts. They arrived here legally, they were promised they would be able to become permanent residents or even citizens, but the opportunity has been taken away from them, and as such, their visas expire, putting them in an impossible situation: they cannot return home, and yet their status in the United States has changed, due to nothing they have done wrong. Way too many of those Trump has said are here illegally, are not, such as is the case of many refugees who have been brought to the United States for their personal safety (which is also why those who say Biden brought in illegals, talking about those who are here as legal refugees, demonstrate an attempt to undermine actual immigration laws and the humanity of those who need our help).
It seems to me that the claim that we have all these illegal migrants, all these criminals, in the United States, is not only ridiculous, it is the kind of lie which Trump wants people to believe so he can use such lies again in the future. When it is accepted as true, when it is accepted that he can just declare someone to be here illegally, or a criminal, without due process, it is easy to see the kind of dystopian nightmare that can bring. It only serves the justify the most extreme, inhumane policies, the kind which allows him to destroy the lives of anyone he doesn’t like, be it someone who is from a country he hates, or someone who criticizes him and exposes his lies to the public. And, because the fight right now concerns the status of millions of migrants and refugees, Christians need to stand up and speak before it is too late, not only for those migrants, but for those who Trump next decides to dehumanize. Certainly, Christians should realize the justification Trump gives, “they are criminals,” fails basic principles of justice; criminals deserve basic human rights, which is why Christians have, throughout Christian history, visited those in prison.
Christianity historically teaches us that the rule of law cannot and must not trump mercy and grace. Positive, human-made laws must not be treated as having absolute authority. Justice, not law, is what is important. The law is meant help establish justice, but, as history consistently shows us, it can also be wielded by tyrants and work for social injustice instead. Just because a law is made does not mean the law is just and must be followed. Christians should know this because they have a history of dealing with those who made laws specifically to undermine the Christian faith. This is certainly what happened in Rome before Constantine. They were told to sacrifice to Caesar, and if they did not, they were deemed criminals worthy of contempt, and whatever happened to them, from having their property confiscated, to torture and imprisonment, to death, was all their fault. They were not good citizens because they did not obey the law. The early Christian apologists argued for the value of justice, pointing out that everyone, even those deemed criminals, should be treated humanely. Sadly, it seems Christians have long lost sight of this, which is why so many focus on the rule of law, and who is and is not a criminal, rather than justice, and because of this focus, they are able to be persuaded to follow brutal systems of injustice established as the rule of law.
Just because someone is labeled a criminal does not mean their human dignity should be ignored, nor does it mean they truly have done something which is unjust. Christian teaching is especially clear concerning the treatment of migrants and refugees: they are to be helped, shown respect, treated with grace and mercy, even as the people of Israel, in their flight from Egypt, needed people to help them, and treat them with mercy and grace. Those who treated the people of Israel with contempt, those who ignored the plight of the people of Israel, were shown to be corrupt and evil in their actions, and they were said to suffer the consequence of their indifference, serving as a warning of what is to happen to anyone who ignores the plight of migrants and refugees in the future. This is why the Torah reminds the people of Israel of their flight from Egypt so that they treat foreigners with respect instead of indifference or malevolence. This is a principle which was not meant for the people of Israel alone, which is why in the New Testament we are also told to respect and help strangers (foreigners).
Of course, the response I often hear, when I point out how bad the laws are, is that I should work to have them changed. Yes, they should be changed, but that takes time, and until it changes, the injustices which come from the laws in place must be fought against, which means, Christians (and anyone of good will) must resist them. Christians are not expected to blindly follow any and every law put in place. An unjust law has no authority, and those who try to enforce an unjust laws are culpable for what such a law does. Those Christians who do not understand this, those who claim to be all about law and order without consideration of justice, undermine what Christianity is about, indeed, in the end, they justify the abuse and execution of Christ, who was himself deemed a criminal worthy of execution by Roman authorities. If we took this ideology to its proper conclusion, we must say the Romans were right in executing Christ because he was, by point of law, a criminal, and as a criminal, he had no rights. How can a Christian who would accept such a conclusion look up to Christ? Does not Christ, on the cross, looking down upon them and the whole world, show them the error of their brutal ideology? I cannot understand the disconnect. It seems Christians have been led to follow the way of Pilate, who thought he could wash his hands of all guilt because he was following the rule of law which said he could and should treat criminals as he saw fit. How can they say Jesus is Lord, when they say the law is lord, and Jesus, according to the law, was a criminal? Jesus showed himself to be in solidarity with the poor, the outcast, those who were deemed as lowlifes, and with those deemed criminals by the rule of law. He said what is done to them, is done to him. Christians who embrace Trump and his outright disdain for justice by promoting the absolutization of Trump’s authority to make laws and turn innocents into criminals, have turned their eyes away from Christ. They are ignoring the cries going up to heaven as Trump threatens to crucify Christ again and again in the migrants and other innocents Trump plans to declare to be criminals just by changing what makes one a criminal.
I fear for the future of the United States. I am ashamed, moreover, of the way many of my fellow Christians have set things up for that future. I hope and pray I am wrong. I hope and pray many of my fellow Christians take a good look upon Jesus on the cross and see the people Christ embraced, including and especially, the migrants who need our help. I hope they do so before it is too late. But, knowing history, knowing the way Christians in the United States have abused innocents in the past, I fear that is not happening.
* Part XXVII In My Personal Reflections And Speculations Series
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