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REFLECTION ON IMMIGRATION JUSTICE
Then the same day in the evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and said unto them, Peace be unto you.
Kierkegaard wrote that this passage said something about his faith journey. Jesus came to him through the locked door, and there are many closed doors in the world at every moment. The idea that love can come through locked doors, be in our midst, and give us peace can sustain us.
In Oklahoma, Federal agents came through locked doors and terrified a family. This is horrific on many levels. The family was not the people the agents were looking for. The agents did not care. Once the situation was under control, they would not listen. The agents humiliated the family members. Already feeling terrified for their lives, the agents continued to wave their guns around and intimidate the family members. When the agents realized they had made a mistake, they did not take responsibility. They confiscated items from the family, including their cash. The agents left the home in shambles and refused to identify themselves or leave any contact information. They came as thieves in the night and broke through the locked door, terrorized, stole, broke, humiliated, and callously lied and left the scene of their crimes. Will there be any restitution or restoration? How long will it take for the family to have peace of mind again, if ever? How long will it take for us who witness this violation by our government to trust our government again?
Most of my life, I trusted people in our government who wore badges and took oaths to defend the Constitution. I knew there were bad actors and mistakes could be made, but I mostly trusted people in power. I was wrong and naive.
When Marco Tulio went for an ICE check-in and was detained and deported, I knew my government was full of liars. Marco’s attorney and I communicated with ICE officials multiple times. We told them we had a path to legal remedy for Marco’s immigration status. We could keep the family together if they allowed him to continue to work, come in for check-ins, and live his life. He had never committed a crime. We had testimonies from his neighbors that he and his family were positive additions to the neighborhood. ICE replied every time that they would not detain and deport him. I met the director for coffee. We communicated back and forth about the sanctuary status of several families. I thought we had a “working” relationship and not an adversarial one. They lied over and over again. I expected better from Federal agents. I hoped this was one of those times when love and decency walked through the locked door and brought peace. It could have been, but I was wrong. I was so angry, I slammed the doors of my spirit and locked them myself.
I am still angry, but the spirit portals of my soul are open again. As the song says, “We are a gentle, angry people. And we are singing for our lives.” Prayer has been the key to unlocking the slammed doors and bringing peace. My experience is nothing compared to Marco’s, his family, the family in Oklahoma, and thousands of families. Their experiences of slammed doors of jail cells, cages, and vehicles must echo in their ears. Their experiences of violence, detention, separation from family members, displacement, and death have slammed doors in their souls. Our government, which represents us, does this on an increasingly frequent and violent basis. This is one level of malfeasance. The deeper offense is simply human beings with power abusing other human beings just because they can.
I am still hanging on to the truth that love can walk through locked doors and bring peace. There are moments when we are almost there. Prayer and our advocacy is the key that unlocks the doors.
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