Original post (shared by friend):
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=26853208760932570&set=a.692547647425372
My comment:
You are perpetuating a false state narrative.
Tell
me: if no one had filmed their deaths at the hand of ICE, who would
know the truth? Would you believe Kristi Noem and Greg Bovino that they
were terrorists attacking federal officers?
These
two, like others, were there to help their neighbors, to stand in the
way when others were treated unjustly, to witness and provide the truth
to the rest of us. The truth is worth dying for, when lies are used for
murder and oppression.
The
truth about what ICE is doing (violating the Constitution, targeting
law-abiding immigrants rather than only the "hardened criminals" that
they claim to be after, and dishing out violence to people merely for
witnessing them or being nearby) is evident to the whole world, because
ordinary people decided that they would stand against it with their
neighbors. They did it nonviolently, even when being pepper sprayed in
the face, tear gassed, and shot at with rubber bullets.
Nothing
could be more American or more in line with what Jesus taught his
disciples by his words and example. Watch the videos of Alex Pretti.
Summary of OP's response:
The poster asked me to read the following article with regard to a biblical view of illegal immigration:
My response:
Thank you for wanting to engage in a discussion.
I
read the article, and most of what they say is good and balanced, but
the argument they present that the Bible has a category of "legal
immigration" and "illegal immigration" does not line up with our modern
categories of geographical national borders and citizenship.
First
of all in OT times, there was no border in the modern sense, only
walled cities and unwalled towns, with loose jurisdiction over the
farmland and wilderness between them: people in biblical times could
move freely to other lands, and the Bible contains no instructions to
stop "foreigners" from becoming "sojourners" and eventually "citizens".
In fact logically, the only way one could become a "sojourner" is to
either start as a "foreigner", settle down, and assimilate, or to start
as a Canaanite native to the land but foreign to Israel. Bathsheba was
originally married to Uriah the Hittite, for example: one of the
Canaanite peoples, but on the way to assimilation under David's rule in
Jerusalem.
The
only exception to this would be for armies from rival cities coming in
war to subjugate or exterminate the people living there. (And if you're
going to argue that's what's happening in America--an "invasion" at the
southern border--then I don't think you'd be arguing in good faith.)
That
said, I have no fundamental objection to immigration laws and border
control. (Neither do mainstream democrats, by the way: the bogeyman of
"open borders" is used to scare Republicans by making a false picture
of Democrats.) Overall, I would argue that our immigration policy for
the past several decades has been out of line with reality, and the
result has been that we have taken advantage of undocumented immigrants
for their labor without fair recognition or protection. What I mean is
that our economy has a demand for immigrant labor not satisfied by our
native population, and rather than constructing a system that is able to
handle the capacity that we need in an orderly manner, we have created a
de-facto system, where immigrants come in and fill jobs, but we don't
protect them from exploitation by employers and criminals. They have
gotten a raw deal, and meanwhile we have allowed a system of smugglers
and of rewarding those who come undocumented over those who go through
the legal process.
The
blame for this is primarily in Congress. Both parties have perpetuated
the broken system, and they have abdicated the maintenance of the
broken system to the executive branch. Different presidents handle
things in vastly different ways, leading to more chaos, unfairness, and
human suffering.
Regardless,
I don't think we have a fundamental disagreement with the idea of
maintaining border control. I, and many others, do see our immigration
"policy" (or hodge-podge of de-facto policies and uneven enforcement) as
a source of injustice. While undocumented immigrants have violated the
civil immigration law in coming here, this does not make them evil.
This does not make them criminals. This *especially* has nothing to do
with their children. Most importantly, this does not make them not our
neighbor.
I
think your application of John 10:1 is WAY out of context: Jesus is
talking about his right to shepherd Israel (and the gentiles) because he
does not ask his followers to die so that he can live and exercise
self-serving power (as so many zealot revolutionaries did), but he laid
down his life for the sheep. It is a property analogy about an
enclosure of sheep, and it has *nothing* to do with national borders
with walls to control migration (which, again, didn't exist at the
time), or even a walled city-state constructed to repel invading armies.
This brings us to the point: what did Renee Good and Alex Pretti think they were putting themselves in danger for?
To
start, ICE's surge in Minnesota was not *merely* focused on
apprehending illegal immigrants with criminal arrest warrants, criminal
convictions, etc. Yes, they were doing that, but they were ALSO going
on a huge fishing expedition to try and round up as many people as they
could, in order to deport them. They were rounding up immigrants,
*regardless of their immigration status*: people with valid asylum
cases; people with orders from judges saying they were not to be
deported. People who looked non-white and started leaving when ICE
showed up at a workplace or business that they thought illegal
immigrants would frequent and grabbing people. They were rounding up US
citizens in the process, even Native Americans. Needless to say,
thousands of ICE agents doing this in a city is a recipe for disorder.
ICE would smash windows and pull people out of cars, and just leave the
cars in the street. ICE would take parents into custody, and either
take the children as well, or just leave the children. People were
being apprehended, and rather than processing them in a local court,
where family and lawyers have access, they would simply disappear to a
detention center in Texas, thousands of miles away. Families didn't
know where their loved ones were taken, or how to prove to authorities
that they had valid documentation or status.
And
the ICE agents were brutal and undisciplined. They used excessive
force. They destroyed property unnecessarily, they covered their faces,
wore combat gear, and did not wear identifying badges. They broke into
homes in violation of the 4th amendment.
We
are only starting to get a picture of what happens in ICE custody, but
there have been many, credible, corroborating stories of neglect,
torture, and extortion. The torture will stop if you sign a paper
consenting to be deported.
Rather
than sit by while all of this injustice was happening, the people of
Minneapolis started warning their neighbors that ICE was in the area by
blowing whistles. The people didn't know who had legal status and who
didn't, who was a dangerous criminal and who wasn't, but too many people
were being taken, and in such a brutal manner, that it no longer
mattered: it needed to stop. As people protested, they started
recording what ICE was doing on their phones. ICE continued their
brutal tactics, not only towards those they were apprehending, but also
toward the growing number of people blowing whistles, yelling, and
recording them on their phones.
After
Renee Good was shot by ICE it became clear that ICE was sent to the
city specifically to provoke a riot. But the people of Minneapolis did
not riot: they resisted, but peacefully. They recorded what was
happening and showed the world. Alex Pretti was not causing trouble.
He was directing traffic when ICE had caused a blockage in the street.
When an ICE agent got in his face, he backed away until he was off the
street. Another ICE agent shoved a woman on the street to the ground.
He bent to help her, and was attacked with pepper spray to the face.
Then he was dragged backwards away from the woman he was protecting and
brought to his knees. Several ICE agents started beating him. He was
armed, but he never made any move for his holster. In the video, you can
hear one of the agents saying "gun, gun". An ICE agent approached,
unholstered Alex's gun from his waistline, and walked away with it.
Seconds later, while Alex was still on his hands and knees, beaten and
pepper sprayed, two ICE agents opened fire on him. They fired 10 shots
at point blank range.
Being
a law enforcement officer is a difficult job, and protecting yourself
and those around you from deadly threats in volatile situations is a
serious responsibility. Nonetheless, what happened to Alex Pretti was a
firing squad. Perhaps the ICE agents heard that he had a gun and
didn't know he was disarmed. Still, he had made no threatening move.
There are so many videos from so many angles, and none of them show Alex
doing anything threatening. This was unjust. Whether because of a
mistake or incompetence and poor training (the latter make the former
more likely), throwing thousands of ICE agents kitted for war into a
city, and tasked with dragging out its residents had the predictable
effect.
So,
was it worth it to resist? I think it was. If ICE was doing in my
town what they did in Minneapolis, I would protest. I would record
them. I would help my neighbors. And I might get shot doing it. But I
would rather put myself in danger to help resist injustice than sit by
and do nothing.
Legal
doesn't mean right. Government power being "ordained by God" means
that the when the government enforces justice that we are accountable to
God to respect that as a God-given role, but it also means that
government is accountable to God to enforce justice and not injustice.
Jesus told Pilate, "You would have no power over me unless it had been
given from above." Government does not get to define what justice is:
only God does. Many Christians bandy about Romans 13 whenever they
approve of the government, but it is a two-edged sword.
My follow-up comment:
You
mentioned an investigation, and I think it's important to point out
that right now the only "investigation" of these incidents involving ICE
is by ICE. The same people who, minutes after these events, LIED to
the nation and the world about what happened are claiming that they can
perform an impartial investigation into their own actions that they lied
about. This, by the way, is out of the ordinary. Normally external
agencies such as the FBI and state investigators would be involved, but
they have been cut off and have no access. Nonetheless, the state of
Minnesota is gathering evidence and testimony from citizens, and members
of Congress with oversight over ICE are calling for an independent and
open investigation. There is no statute of limitations on murder, so I
believe eventually (perhaps after Trump is out of office) a more
trustworthy investigation can take place.
Kristi
Noem has shown that we cannot believe anything she tells us. She
claims that she was only doing as she was directed by Stephen Miller and
Donald Trump, and in that, I believe her. Stephen Miller is the
designer of Trump's immigration approach, as well as the push for the
vast expansion of executive power and the removal of checks, balances,
and transparency.
My further follow-up comment:
Here's
an interview of one of the people who witnessed Alex Pretti's killing.
She is an ordinary person from Minneapolis, not a paid agitator. I find
it particularly insulting to my intelligence when people assert, without
evidence, that someone they disagree with is a paid performer.
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