Suffer The Little Children To Go On Suffering

Just over twelve months ago, the U.S. Senate passed a historic, bipartisan compromise bill that would, if passed by the House and signed by President Obama, enact comprehensive immigration reform, reform of the sort that has been sadly needed for decades.  And, soon thereafter, the House, determined not to do anyone any favors except for the party that controls it, began its pass-dribble, pass-dribble approach to the issue of immigration, in a two-pronged effort to take control of both houses of Congress by discouraging the Democratic proponents of reform, while firing up the conservative opponents of it.  Sadly, it worked.  The Senate bill will never be taken up now by the House, whose "Speaker" has made it clear that the issue of immigration reform is dead for this year.

It would be bad enough if the state of immigration in this country was no worse than the mere death of reform efforts.  Unfortunately, it's much worse than that.  Now, even children running for their lives to a place of supposed safety are not immune from our dysfunctional political system.  Now, even those children can be viewed by America's plutocrats, and the red-state idiots who love them, as "lucky duckies."

For decades, we have supported and armed governments in Central America that routinely torture and execute their own citizens.  We have allowed any number of illegal arms to flow into the countries controlled by these government, turning them into shooting galleries.  And those two reasons--not DACA, not the provisional waiver program, and not the increasingly remote prospect of immigration reform--are the only reasons that we have thousands of child refugees from those nations at our borders.

These are not competitors for American workers.  They are not, in most cases, guilty of criminal or even violent conduct.  They could, in perhaps the majority of cases, be eligible for asylum--and should, in any case, be given the opportunity to make their case heard before the Customs and Border Patrol puts them back into harm's way.  So what is our supposedly "pro-life," nation doing?  How is it responding to this opportunity to put our pro-child money--and action--where our mouths are?

With blockades.  With screams on the Internet, cable and social media to "send 'em back," to "stop the invasion," to say "enough is enough."  Enough of what, exactly?  Compassion?  Humanity?  Decency?  For that matter, Christianity?  Unlike Jesus, we do not suffer the little children to come to us.  Rather, we proclaim their "right" to be sent back to their suffering.  America may be a "Christian" nation, but it's certainly not one that Jesus would recognize.

And what of our "pro-immigration" President?  Is he demanding resources to give even a smidgen of due process to these would-be immigrants?  Are you kidding?  Even as he announces that now, he's going to get really, really serious about administrative action, he's demanding changes in the law that would make it easier to put these child back in the line of fire.

I repeat:  these children are looking for safety.  And the United States, with the reputation of being the richest, most compassionate nation on Earth, is turning its back on them.  Actually viewing them as a threat to its very existence.

Better that these child should incorporate.  Then we would welcome them with open arms.  Except that I would tell them to go to the Cayman Islands.  You deserve better than what the United States has become.