There is a crisis at the border! But it’s not because so many refugees are coming here; the crisis is that we aren’t there helping them. Kudos to President Biden for ending the Title 42 restrictions, and allowing refugees to be processed once again.

Every day Republican leaders keep making this an issue, and are trying to make you believe that these refugees are all drug dealers or human traffickers or con artists looking to take something from us.

THAT IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE!

So let’s talk about these refugees.

They are coming here from places and conditions so bad that few of us can even imagine what they have been going through.

Can you imagine living in a place where you fear for the lives of your children every day?

Can you imagine living in a place where you have no chance of providing even the basic necessities of life to your family?

Can you imagine living in conditions so bad that you will literally walk thousands of miles along with your children, carrying everyone you own, to a country that does not speak your language, in the faint hope that maybe you will be allowed in and maybe life there will be better than what you left?

Let’s not forget that they are God’s children, just like you and me. They are hungry and scared and they are coming here in sheer desperation, seeking our help.

As a Christian, I was taught to HELP those in need, not turn them away.

Matthew 25:31-46 makes this pretty clear:

“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’”

It sickens me that those who are loudly claiming that Christianity is being attacked in America are the same ones wanting to build a wall and reject those seeking our help.

So, how do we help these refugees?

First, let’s make it clear that these refugees are NOT entering our country illegally. They are not breaking any laws. If you are coming here seeking asylum, it is LEGAL to cross the border at any location at anytime. As crazy as it sounds, in order to request asylum, you have to first BE HERE INSIDE THE UNITED STATES!

Now, when someone seeks asylum, they must be given a hearing to determine whether they qualify or not. If they qualify, they are granted asylum. If they do not, they must leave. But many refugees must wait for months or years to even get that hearing.

STEP ONE: We need to hire more judges and staff so that those seeking asylum can have their cases heard within a few days instead of months or years. When someone seeks asylum, they must be given a hearing to determine whether they qualify or not. If they qualify, they are granted asylum. If they do not, they must leave.

Until then, those waiting must have food and shelter. Those that have friends or relatives here should be allowed to stay with them while waiting. That should be a no brainer since it costs taxpayers nothing. For many years, churches and other organizations provided food and shelter for those without friends or relatives. There was a system in place to match those seeking asylum with those organizations, but that system was dismantled when Trump took office.

STEP TWO: We need to rebuild our system for housing these refugees while they wait for their cases to be heard. We need to coordinate with the churches and other organizations again. Unemployment is at a record low level now; there are plenty of jobs available where these refugees could actually earn their own money and start to rebuild their lives. There are 20,000 cities here in the U.S. If each city took just ONE or TWO refugee families each month, we could solve our border crisis overnight!

Let’s stop complaining about the problem, and start helping these people. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the Christian thing to do!

Read more about the border crisis.