A Month That Chilled Me

I watched in horror as Donald Trump announced that he was sending 238 convicted criminals to an El Salvador prison. These were mostly Venezuelan men. I was confused. Why were they being sent to El Salvador? Shouldn’t they be deported to Venezuela? Donald Trump said they were the worst of the worst. So I could understand the need to deport them, but I couldn’t understand why they were going to an El Salvadorian prison.

I confess my naivety. I assumed that there had been due process. I assumed that these men had been caught in their crimes. That there had been eyewitnesses to their brutality. I started to wait and watch for the evidence of their crimes. But that never came. 

And then things got worse. I learned the White House made an administrative error in the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He is from El Salvador, but was in the United States legally. I felt a deeper horror. What was happening? Why was he sent off to this El Salvador prison, if he was here legally?
At some point during the last month, I also saw a video of Kristi Noem with these prisoners. All their heads were shaved. They were behind bars. And she gave a chilling message to those who would seek to illegally enter the United States. She told the world that anyone who enters the US illegally are subject to being sent to this El Salvadorian prison. It is one of the tools in their toolkit that they will use against anyone who is illegally in the US. This was terrifying to watch…and I believe that was the intention. 

I had so many questions as I listened to Donald Trump or others in his administration address this situation. Why weren’t they showing us the evidence of the violent acts that these men had committed? Why were they using a prison in El Salvador, and not deporting the men who were from Venezuela to Venezuela? Why were they promising to send other illegal immigrants to this prison, no matter what their country of origin was? Where was the due process? Were these men actually criminals, or were they picked up merely because they looked a certain way? Could this happen to anyone? Could this happen to US citizens?

All of these questions drove me to desperate prayer. I was pleading with God, in tears. I was confused and afraid. I asked God to move Donald Trump to share the evidence with the world that these men were indeed the ‘worst of the worst’. I pleaded with God to move Donald Trump to realise that using a prison in El Salvador was dangerous, entering into some kind of dystopian horror. I prayed that Donald Trump would move to return to normal deportation processes, rather than use this terrible prison. Most of all, I pleaded with God to move Donald Trump to submit to the Supreme Court, and facilitate Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s return so that due process would be used with him (evidence gathered, etc). I was seeking to hope in love that Donald Trump would be moved to do what was right, and stop all of this insanity. I understand that deportation is necessary, especially where there is violent offense. But sending these men to this El Salvador prison, under the authority of an El Salvador dictator is terrifying, and not the direction the United States should take. 

I waited with desperate hope for Monday, April 14th. I knew the Supreme Court had issued a request to have the Trump administration facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. I was desperately hoping for an announcement that the Trump administration had done this, and I was hoping Garcia was already on his way back to the United States. Instead, the President of El Salvador appeared in the Oval Office. Without Garcia. And both Donald Trump and President Nayib Bukele stated that it was impossible to return Garcia. President Bukele called him a terrorist. What chilled me the most was when Donald Trump asked President Bukele if he would take the worst of American criminals into this prison. “The homegrowns are next..you gotta build about 5 more places.” I was in a place of despair for the rest of the day after hearing this interaction in the Oval office. Sony and Karalise were worried about me. My despair was written all over my body, and I could hardly move. To me, this was the beginning of something terrible. Lord, have mercy. 

Please remember, I’m sharing these things as someone who was a witness in a murder trial. I have been consumed with anger and fear towards my friend who murdered his wife and child. I was a bridesmaid at their wedding! He could have divorced her, but instead, he chose to end her. I have never felt such anger and fear! But this anger and fear was constrained by the Word of God, and by the Spirit who dwells within me. I am thankful this friend, who murdered, received some measure of justice here in Canada. However, I am deeply broken over the fact that he didn’t receive the full amount of justice that he deserved (he received manslaughter instead of 1st degree murder). However, I do not want to send him to a foreign prison, with no laws, and have him suffer torture and torment. This man is made in the image of God. And I am made in the image of God. I actually mar my own image of God within myself by desiring that kind of evil for him. I DO want him to be in jail. But I do NOT want him to be in a lawless jail. And I don’t hate him. I refuse to be driven by hatred for him (and when I am, I plead with God to forgive me and help me). I pray for his soul to be saved. I plead with God to have mercy on him, even though he stole from me one of the most precious friends I have ever had. She is a woman I continue to emulate and treasure. Therefore, even if these men have committed the worst of crimes, I want them to be treated with some degree of dignity: due process; justice but not torture and torment. The most tragic part of this story is that we don’t even know if these men actually committed atrocious crimes. It is possible they are innocent, and being degraded and sentenced to death in a foreign prison for no reason (this prison has a reputation: no one leaves). Yes, if they were in the US illegally, it was within the rights of the US to deport them back to Venezuela (not El Salvador) or keep them in a prison in the US. But what they have done instead is terrifying. 

Oh Lord, please help. Help us to not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

On illegal immigrants: the extremely hostile, hate-filled reaction to illegal immigrants is categorically wrong. As Christians, we are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. This does not mean a failure to do what is just! Don’t get me wrong! But hate!?!? No! Jesus calls us to something very different. We were once enemies of God. All of us had sinned! We were all hostile to God, rejecting Him. And even so, God was moved to compassion, and sent His only Son to die for our sins. Yes, governments should enact appropriate justice, but the response should not be hatred.

On legal immigrants: Christians are called to welcome the foreigner. We are called to love the foreigner as ourselves. 

Note 1: I listened directly to Donald Trump and others involved on these matters.

Note 2: I do not share this to convince those who support Trump of anything. I share this because my conscience insisted that I speak against what is happening. This is wrong, and is not representative of Christianity. I stand against it. Due process is necessary.

Verses on Biblical Justice:
“A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.” Deuteronomy 19:15

“You shall not oppress a sojourner (foreigner). You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” Exodus 23:9

“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. You shall do no wrong in judgment, in measures of length or weight or quantity. You shall have just balances, just weights, a just ephah, and a just hin. And you shall observe all my statutes and all my rules, and do them: I am the Lord.” Leviticus 19:33-36

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?” Matthew 5:43-46

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:14-21