Jitterbugging for Jesus

Meanwhile, down on the U.S./Mexico border…

Art by Angel Valdez for The Houston Catholic Worker at http://www.cjd.org

The Trump administration–with all its Christians who never let us forget how Christian they are–continues its policy of cruelty toward poor, vulnerable, so-called “invaders.”

I still hear this all it time from conservatives: Parroting Trump, they say we’re being “invaded” by people from south of the U.S. border. They love that Trump is fighting to stop this invasion.

I point out to them that invaders are almost always heavily armed because they seek to conquer a land and its people by force. The desperate people seeking asylum at our borders are unarmed men, women and children who couldn’t conquer America if they wanted to.

Which they don’t.

They hardly qualify as “invaders.”

Art by Bro. Mickey McGrath, an Oblate of St. Francis De Sales, artist, author, and speaker. More on him at http://www.bromickeymcgrath.com and http://www.embracedbygod.org

It’s interesting the responses I hear from those conservatives. They typically pivot to the argument that we are being invaded by violent, heavily armed drug smugglers. Which is an entirely different issue from the issue of poor and vulnerable people fleeing violent, heavily armed drug gangs in their home countries.

I’ve said it often and will say it again: American conservatives–especially those who purport to be Jesus-loving, God-fearing Christians–simply have no defense for the Trump administration’s endless cruelty toward asylum seekers.

* * *

The wonderful Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation shared an article about St. Peter Claver this morning on its Facebook page. The Spanish Jesuit devoted most of his life ministering to thousands of African slaves who arrived every year at the port city where he lived in the 16th century.

Mary van Balen, a fine spiritual writer who penned the Shalem Institute article, writes:

As I thought of Peter Claver’s instinctive action to first alleviate human suffering, the plight of refugees at our Southern border came to mind. They come mostly from Central and South America, fleeing unspeakable violence, poverty, and fear for their lives. How are they met?

I spoke with Sister Barbara Kane, a member of the Dominican Sisters of Peace in Columbus, Ohio. She and others in her community have traveled to El Paso to serve as they could.

She spoke of refugees’ long waits in enclosed areas (some liken them to cages) until they have their Credible Fear Hearing (when the refugee states what has driven them to seek asylum). “The enclosures have concrete floors, are kept at 60 degrees, and are so small people are packed together, unable to lie down to sleep,” Sr. Barbara said. People receive little food. Yet, despite the great needs, no one is allowed inside to help.

Thank God we still have many American Christians, clergy and lay alike, whose “instinctive actions” are to do whatever they can to alleviate the suffering that is still being compounded by the Trump administration while impeachment is in all the news.

You can read van Balen’s entire article, which I commend to you, dear readers, here.