In 2012, President Obama signed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals act. Basically, it says that dependent children of families that enter the US illegally are not responsible for making the decision to come to the United States. They are here because of their parents’ decisions. The bill defers handling their cases. In Central America, newspapers in Honduras, Guatemala, and Costa Rica all ran large stories about this policy shift, implying (or outright counseling) that there was a new policy of “permisso” (permission) to enter the United States. The reality is actually balanced somewhere in among three things:
—an open invitation to immigrate into the USA
—lack of enforcement, and
—a trusting system that allows for those who come in with families to come to the US, turn themselves in to the border patrol and get asylum.
The result of this policy is that a perceived invitation is motivating tens of thousands of parents in Central America to pack up and seek entry into the USA. Many are literally paying an agent to help lead them into the US. Even worse, some parents are sending their children north on busses where they are deposited with the border patrol.
Of course, there is capacity in the United States to deal with some finite number of indigent children who are in need. There are two huge problems with the current situation. First, the numbers are not small. While technically “finite,” they are gargantuan. It is the second problem, however, that is the more serious problem. When undocumented people of unknown origin are being allowed into a nation, the consequence is simple, but potentially devastating. Some of the people coming in could be very, very bad people with very, very bad plans. There have been reports from Iraq that ISIS (the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria) members are seeking to capitalize on the essentially open border to introduce people with horrific agendas into the US. Since a huge stockpile of radioactive material has fallen into their hands, the possibility of having a “dirty bomb” has increased dramatically. The kind of radioactive material is not the sort that qualifies for building a nuclear bomb, but it is the type that can kill people with radiation when the radioactive material is blasted around by being attached to a bomb.
Most of the Central Americans (both adults and children) are at least nominally connected with the Roman Catholic Church. They may not be developed theologically as mature disciples yet, but they are nominally Christians—Roman Catholic ones at that. The body that is naturally positioned to reach out to the immigrants is the Roman Catholic Church here in the US. Other concerned citizens (especially the Christians) should offer to help—with funds and energy as well as our own “sweat equity.” Donald McGavran spoke of “the Bridges of God,” identifying the ways that people link together so they can be reached with the Gospel. We need to help, but we also need to pray that the Roman Catholic groups that care for people will be populated with evangelical Catholics who can actually lead the people they serve to Christ.
The perception of new amnesty is such a magnet for immigration, a host of people are being attracted. The importance of the situation cannot be overstated. Another 50-60,000 people will likely come into the US before the end of August.
I’m sure that there are some who are mainly motivated by humanitarian concern, politically however, some offer the observation that the current presidential administration is eager to welcome immigrants because they presume that they will eventually be voters who can increase the influence of the president’s party.
The factor that means that the border must be dealt with immediately, however, is the issue of security. There has never been a time in history where there has been a successful outcome when the complicating factor of the presence of evil has been overlooked. Since terrorists have announced that they are heading to the US/Mexico border, it is reasonable to assume that they are doing it! It would be cynical to say that nothing good can be done for those caught in poverty. It is stupid to say that we can ignore the risks from evil people who seek to exploit the open border. A mature solution balances both compassion and wisdom. The best outcome is for people to be won to faith in Christ and established on a path of discipleship that will help them have abundant lives, whether here or in another nation.
The other geographical location which involves borders, violence, and conundrum is the Middle East, particularly in the Gaza strip and the Palestinian relationship with Israel. Recently, three teenage Israeli boys were kidnapped and killed by Palestinians who are part of, or are sympathetic to, Hamas. One of the teens was a dual citizen of Israel and the United States. In addition to the kidnapping/killings, Hamas has fired more than 1300 rockets from Gaza into Israel. Not surprisingly, Israel has reacted with great strength. In the words of the Prime Minister of Israel, “We will move until Hamas is undone.” Now, the Israeli Defense Forces are carrying out air strikes and ground forces have moved into Gaza.
From our perspective, a tremendously complicating factor is the fact that among the Palestinians are both Muslims and Christians. The Christians are terribly displaced in this conflict. While there is little love lost from Palestinian Christians in Gaza toward the Israelis, there are also many Christians who live and even vote in the state of Israel.
The problem with recognizing the legitimacy of Hamas’ leadership is their core value commitment to destroy both Israel and the Jews. From “The Covenant of the Hamas—Main Points,” we read:
On the Destruction of Israel:
‘Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam willobliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.’
It is very difficult to embrace any group that holds as a core value the killing of almost eight million people—the population of Israel.
Israel is under great criticism for taking military action against Hamas in Gaza. There is an attempt by many to paint the actions of Israel and the actions of Hamas on an equal moral footing. For me, however, there is a fundamental difference. Israel always and only targets combatants and seeks to minimize casualties to civilians. Hamas principally targets civilians and seeks to maximize civilian casualties.
For the Church, it is very challenging. It is an environment in which there are many people who need to be transformed by the redeeming love of Christ, but it is one where it is very difficult to share openly. Open demonstrations of Christian faith are viewed about as negatively as are the Jews by Hamas and other extremists. As long as the government of Gaza recognizes and supports Hamas, there is no hope for peace. The radicals need to be removed from influence. Their attacks against civilians really cannot be tolerated. Consider how long Thailand would tolerate more than a thousand rockets being aimed at their citizens from Laos, or how long France would wait after a thousand rockets were fired from Belgium before they retaliated. In ordinary circumstances, the “fired upon” people would be supported by the “civilized world.” Perhaps it is because the rocket-attacked people are Jews, many other nations are slow to condemn the attacks. In France, there have been demonstrations against “Israeli aggression.” How it is possible to overlook the attacks from Hamas and absolve them from responsibility for their contributions to the conflict is difficult to imagine.
Israel is not a perfect nation. Its leaders are not perfect. It is, however, a democracy. Non-Jews are allowed to vote and can live in Israel. The same cannot be said for surrounding nations. I have spoken to many “covert Jews” who seek to live under the radar in Iraq or Iran, Jordan or other nations because the presence of Jews is not looked on favorably.
For Christians, the situation is extremely difficult. In Syria and Iraq, they are fleeing at best and dying at worst at the hands of Islamic radicals. We need to pray for wisdom and protection for them. Like the three Hebrew children in Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace, it is possible for faithful people to prevail in horrific circumstances. Many, however, are martyred. More Christians were killed in the twentieth century than in all the centuries before. If we rest on our relative calm in the West, the conflicts will one day come to us as well. Of course, conflict does not stop the Gospel. In fact, it fuels it. It isn’t fun, but that is the truth. While we have stewardship over resources that are relatively abundant (compared to the rest of the world), we would be wise to invest them in mission, evangelism, discipleship, compassion ministries, and development to make an impact for the sake of the Gospel wherever we can.
The conflicts on the borders are not singular to those locations. Similar things are happening and will happen in many others as well. We need to be ready to take the Gospel to those nearby and also to every corner of the uttermost parts.
Bishop Bill Atwood is Bishop of the Anglican Church in North America’s International Diocese and an American Anglican Council Contributor.
