“It was either this or be murdered.” Javier was one of nearly 100 kids in the cafeteria of the transitional facility I visited this week. I moved from table to table asking questions. What’s your name? How old are you? Where are you from? What brought you here? How have you been treated? Where are your parents?
The misinformation about unaccompanied minors is staggering. News of the surge of 60,000 unaccompanied minors since last fall makes people think that border crossings are up. In fact border crossings are down, way down. Border crossings in the ’80s and ’90s were over 1.5 million.
US border apprehensions:
2000: 1,675,438
2008: 723,825
2009: 556,041
2013: 420,789
So what’s going on with this surge in unaccompanied minors? Our group convened on the border to learn. We met with border patrol, an attorney, the children themselves, staff, social workers, pastors and others to understand the situation.
Violence in Central America is on the rise. Poverty leads to desperate measures. Honduras has the highest murder rate in the world. Attorney Jennifer K. Harbury explained the situation to us. She is a first generation Jew, the daughter of a man who came to the US to rebuild a shattered life. Fortunately, her father’s boat was not turned away, like the SS St. Louis, when European Jews were seeking asylum in the US. After the Holocaust, the US promised, never again will we turn away asylum seekers.
Harbury housed a refugee from Honduras. At 13, the gangs told this refugee he had to join or be murdered. He refused and they beat him nearly to death. A year later they came back again with the same demand. After refusing, they ran him over with a car. His mother gave him $30 and told him to go north.
Hitchhiking on trains, he made it to Mexico, where he was kidnapped and held for ransom. Escaping, he crossed the river and was picked up by US Border Patrol. He was treated poorly in a harsh detention facility until the local sheriff stepped in. In time, he was settled with a foster family, but after a month he was picked up by immigration. Harbury met him through a glass window in jail, fighting to bring him home.
Look into their eyes. These are not members of cartels smuggling drugs across the border. These are children seeking asylum. They have been battered and mistreated. Who, with a heart, could deny them due process under the law and protection? When a ten-year-old shows up at the border seeking safety, at the very least he needs the representation of a lawyer who knows the law to watch out for him.
The Gospels tell us that Jesus was once a refugee. He and his family crossed the border into Egypt fleeing for their lives under the threat of violence by Herod. Jesus welcomed children into his arms when the disciples wanted to turn them away. He said, “Whatsoever you do to the least of these, you do unto me.” And, “When I was a stranger you welcomed me.” He told stories like the Parable of the Good Samaritan, in which a victim is shown kindness by a stranger, and neglected by those who should be caregivers.
As it turns out, kindness to strangers is a frequently recurring theme in the Hebrew Bible and in the New Testament. Antiquity bounds with stories of visitations by divine visitors, who come just to test our hearts. In these stories of both Jewish and pagan background, mortals are judged by how they treat these divine visitors disguised as poor ordinary strangers. Fear teaches us to see everyone as an enemy. Love teaches us to embrace strangers, even enemies.
The Christian community has a special calling to welcome strangers and care for the poor. I saw the church in action on this visit. Catholic Charities rocks. Their transitional facility at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen was impressive. Pastor Chad Mason and the folks at Calvary Baptist Church in McAllen are knocking it out of the park. The Lutheran Social Services transitional facility and foster care program we visited was outstanding. People down here seem to understand the problem better than the mainstream media.
I blanch every time I hear someone call these children “illegals.” What is illegal about following a process laid down by law, specifically intended to protect the most vulnerable young people imaginable? They have been processed; they are known to the authorities; they need the law to act as intended. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, signed into law by President George W. Bush, directs the US to protect unaccompanied minors and give them due process and sanctuary.
For unaccompanied minors, the journey looks like this. First there is the trip from Central America to the border. When I talked with these kids one-on-one, I asked how long the trip took. I heard stories that ranged from one week to 2 1/2 months. Some were mistreated on the trip and some were not.
Once they present themselves, border patrol has 72 hours to process them. If possible they are repatriated. If not, border patrol gets them into an ORR (US Office of Refugee Resettlement) transitional facility, like the one we visited operated by Lutheran Social Services. I asked about 20 different kids how long they were in border patrol custody. Answers ranged from two days to two weeks.
This recent surge has overtaxed transitional facilities, creating overflows, delays, and the establishment of new shelters whose conditions undermine the progress that has been made in serving children in recent years.
Many transitional facilities offer group homes or short-term foster care for some of the youth in their care; other programs operate exclusively using this model. Many children are able to be released from these transitional arrangements to the care of family members here in the United States. Some, who have no other family to take care of them, need long-term foster care – a loving home to live in until their legal cases are completed or they reach adulthood. The qualifications for foster parents differ slightly by location depending on the other support and services available, the particular programs offered and state laws.
There is some need for licensed foster parents who speak Spanish fluently and live close to an ORR transitional facility, but many others are also needed. Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is currently operating a national foster care referral hotline, helping connect close to 100 generous families every day to programs around the country that are seeking loving placements for the children and youth they serve.
I’ve heard some people suggest that these children are running drugs. Border patrol told us this is not the case. Drugs are being run by Mexican cartels, not by children from Central America who are here seeking asylum.
These children crossing the border, unaccompanied minors, are not running from border patrol. They are running to border patrol and presenting themselves as refugees and asylum-seekers. Most of these children have relatives here in the United States. Some are fleeing violence. Others are fleeing poverty, which is a kind of violence.
Is there room in the inn? I believe so. Our current system for handling children refugees at the border is actually pretty good. It’s just over-taxed with the recent influx. The challenge now is this recent surge, caused by an escalation of violence and poverty in Central America. If Congress appropriates additional funds for this, the problem can be managed.
If you as an individual, and/or your congregation would like to respond, here are some resources:
Go Forward
1. Pray. Individually and together as a church. Read the flight into Egypt, Moses in the basket, The Good Samaritan. The parable of the Sheep and the Goats: Matthew 25:35-45.
2. Learn. Read as much as you can. Use mainstream sources to become educated.
3. Act:
Give. Lutheran Disaster Response.
Foster. There is great need, but you need to speak Spanish, be approved for to provide foster care within your state, and live close to an ORR facility, which are located in many places around the U.S., but not everywhere.
Welcome. Become a House of Welcome: While unaccompanied minors are not accessible (for their protection – this is a good thing), mothers with children are arriving and need care.
Visit. You can’t visit ORR facilities that house kids, but you can visit the border to understand the situation better. Our Savior’s in McAllen has affordable housing. Contact Omar Mixco, from La Frontera Ministries, by email or at 630.687.1864.
Advocate. Ramp up so we can counteract the misinformation. Address root causes.
- Ask the government not to expedite deportations.
- Treat this as a refugee crisis.
- Request congress to allocate additional funds ($3.7B)
- Ask congress not to revoke the 2008 TVPRA (Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act) legislation that protects children at the border.
Border visit participants: Paul Bailie, Stephen Bouman, Megan Brandsrud,
Hector Carrasquillo, Judith Dykes-Hoffmann, Charles Fredrickson, Paul Hernandez, Omar Mixco, Evan Moilan, Mike Nevergall, Rafael Malpica Padilla, Daniel Rift,
Michael Rinehart, Raquel Rodriguez, Kurt Senske, Kara Stewart, Michael Stadie,
and Tia Upchurch-Freelove.
Other articles:
What Really Drove the Children North by Mary O’Grady
Child Migrants Have Been Coming to America Alone Since Ellis Island by Tasneem Raja
Paranoia on the Border: Immigration and Public Health by Adam Turner
July 18, 2014 at 12:00 pm
Regardless of your good intentions, we have a serious border problem, don’t we? Also, you gloss over the matter of sovereignty of a country, the drug cartels, terrorists coming in, and redefine illegal aliens as refugees. The children are the pawns. The United States will not continue to exist if we lose control of our borders and become a dumping ground for every country experiencing crime and political turmoil. But I think you have no mind to accept facts or face the truth.
July 18, 2014 at 3:07 pm
Thanks for your perspective
July 19, 2014 at 10:14 am
Reblogged this on Pastor Allende's Blog and commented:
The issue of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S. borders has raised a firestorm in recent weeks. Bishop Michael Rinehart of the Texas Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, visited with some of these children and posted his observations on his blog. It is presented from both a humanitarian and theological perspective, and worth the read. So I repost here for the benefit of those who follow my blog and with thanks to God for Bishop Rinehart’s thoughtful reflection and call to action.
Peace,
Pastor Abraham Allende
July 19, 2014 at 10:42 am
Thank you for speaking to the needs of children who are escaping violence in their home countries. All but the first peoples in the USA have been immigrants. Wave by wave our fore bearers arrived and faced discrimination but it has never been so blatant in my 60+ year lifetime as now. We have a few very vocal folks denigrating children and their reasons for asylum. Thank you for pointing out the reasons we have children at our borders.
July 19, 2014 at 12:39 pm
And what do we become if we tightly close our borders? The United States has always been a “dumping ground for every country experiencing crime and political turmoil,” or maybe I should say that it has been a beacon of hope for those victims of crime and political turmoil. That’s what defines us as a nation. From the first settlers to this place called America, this country has been strengthened by those following this beacon of hope, not weakened. That’s what makes me proud of our nation. And, even if the children are the pawns–an idea I do not accept–they are still children. Are they not deserving of this slight glimmer of hope? After all, that’s what brought my father to this country as a child.
July 19, 2014 at 12:40 pm
Can you add more information on how to help?
July 19, 2014 at 12:47 pm
Thank you for sharing! Our media is exploiting this topic by sensationalizing it and your post offered good information regarding two points. One, the number of individuals crossing the borders is actually less. Secondly, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act put into place by Pres. George Bush allows these children a sanctuary and hope for a better life. It isn’t about jobs or taxes or social services, its about our call to stand up and do what we can to help another human being.
July 19, 2014 at 7:20 pm
Encouraging these children to come here is not the answer. According to the article, “Poverty is a kind of violence” Really? I’m on the brink of poverty myself but you don’t see me expecting some other country to provide food, shelter, healthcare and education for my children. That law the article referred to was for children being trafficked for the sex trade and other situations where they were taken from their homes and forced here against their will. The article says they are given money by THEIR OWN PARENTS and then just walk right up to Border Patrol agents because they know that once they get here, they have it easy. They don’t need lawyers because obviously they are already more familiar with our laws than we are. If they have relatives here, why aren’t the relatives stepping up and taking responsibility for them and applying for them to come legally? I’ll venture to guess it’s because their relatives are also here illegally. Solve the problem at its origin. Where is the outrage at the conditions in their home countries mentioned in the article? Do you think that the children in Sudan and Palestine wouldn’t love to come to the US to escape their horrific situations? Unfortunately, they’re not able to get here so easily. This article talks about finding homes for these children here in the US. An ad I saw in California, is offering up to $6,000 per month to take these children. That money is being taken from the American tax payers; from hard-working people who are struggling already. Six thousand dollars per month? That’s more than $70,000 per year. Multiply that by the 60,000 children or more and the figures are staggering. A life raft can only hold so many people before it sinks. The American life raft is sinking and we are all going to drown. The parents of these children need to demand change in their home countries (which is what is starting to happen here) and THEIR governments need to be held accountable for the situation not play on the sympathies of the American people because we did not create this situation. Send the children back to their home countries, to embassies or orphanages and charities there and work with them at that level. Send YOUR own money to help them but don’t forcibly take it from the American people.
July 19, 2014 at 11:12 pm
But the fact is that these children are NOT illegal aliens. It is absolutely, 100% legal to enter the country, present yourself to Border Patrol or Customs & Immigration, and ask for help. In order to request asylum, you MUST be physically present in the US. When Poles, Czechs, Yugoslavs, and East Germans did exactly this in the 80s, they were treated like heroes. When Cubans do it, they’re given resettlement help. We expect to receive about 50,000 t 60,000 Central American immigrants this year. In 1980, we accepted 125,000 Cubans (many of them just released from prisons and mental hospitals) in just over 6 months. Did the United States stop existing then, when we were a literal dumping ground for Castro?
July 20, 2014 at 8:00 am
Thank you Bishop Rinehart. Mr. Flanagan, not to pick a fight, but under what circumstances did your family arrive here?
July 20, 2014 at 10:03 am
Please see the go forward points towards the bottom of the article. Is there something specific you need to know more about?
July 20, 2014 at 10:05 am
Actually, the relatives here in this country are stepping up to take the children. At our facility in Texas, 85% of them are placed. And, the children are coming legally.
July 20, 2014 at 10:10 am
Thank you, Bishop Rinehart, for posting this article. I am dismayed by the attitudes of some of our countrymen.
July 20, 2014 at 1:55 pm
“Those willing to a take in a child under the age of 16 can receive up to $854.00 tax free per month. For those taking in a child over 16, the total is $1,008.00 per month in reimbursement. If you have a 5 bedroom house and can take in as many as 6 children, you can receive reimbursement of up to $6,054.00 per month tax free.”
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/1355664/foster-immigrant-children-ad-offers-6000-per-month-to-guardians/#XCk4GzYjSIy6ak3L.99
So in other words, you’d have to own a 5 bedroom house ALREADY and then take in 6 children to raise. Judging by what it costs to raise 6 kids in a 5 bedroom house, I’d say you’d barely break even on that. I’m also guessing that nearly no one with an (apparently empty) 5 bedroom house has taken in 6 children to raise. Plus, the agency is also partially funded by private donations. If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Read into things a little more before getting all frothy at the mouth next time.
July 25, 2014 at 12:36 pm
Thank you, Bishop, for this important and informative post. It was shared with me by Bishop Claire Burkat of Southeastern PA Synod. In turn, I shared it with a local radio host here in Central PA, Mark Lawrence, WKOK 1070, because some of his co-hosts and callers have been so misinformed and almost vitriolic in their comments about these children. Mark invited you to call into his show this morning (July 25, 2014) and you were excellent – articulate, informative, and forthcoming with your faith perspective. It made me proud to be a Lutheran and a pastor! This is public theology at its best: furthering the discussion of a national and international ethical issue in a very positive and helpful way.
December 20, 2014 at 10:15 pm
Let them all in. The sooner we break this country, they will quit coming, and maybe even some of them will go back because it will be a better life there.
December 21, 2014 at 5:48 pm
Sadly, this is the mentality: that immgrants will brrak this country. In fact immigrants made this country, and they continue to fuel Houston’s robust economy.