Migrants on our southern border marched to the US Consulate in Tijuana this week, delivering a letter to President Trump demanding faster entry into our country, or $50,000 each to return to their own country.
One man told Fox News, "We thought they would let us in. But Trump sent the military instead of social workers."
Will Congress fund the "wall"?
Will our government be "shut down" over the issue of funding?
Is the wall "immoral" as soon to be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi claims?
Be informed.
Local reporting says that about 200 members of the "Honduran" caravan "marched to the US Consulate in Tijuana Tuesday and delivered a handwritten letter directed to President Donald Trump, demanding entry into the United States, or $50,000 to return to their own country.
The action was an attempt to accelerate the process---like open the borders, "Welcome, come on in whoever you are"--- but it didn't work out as expected.
At the consulate, the migrant caravan was stopped by a team of riot police and were told to select a group of spokespersons to deliver the letter. Then the marchers were transported back to another part of the city.
The letter essentially requests passage into the US, noting they are fleeing poverty, insecurity, and oppression caused by the president of Honduras.
The letter also demands the president of Honduras be removed ---and all 13 US military installations be removed from their country---and they gave the United States 72 hours to respond.
"Or," they said:
"If the United States will give each of us $50,000 we will peacefully return to our country."
Some of them were carrying signs written in English that said,
"You got it wrong Trump, we asked for jobs, you responded with weapons."
This whole disaster at the border does not make US citizens feel that these people are wanting to become Americans, in fact, the demand of $50k sounds like attempted extortion.
Is Trump getting it wrong?
Fox says the "letter" also criticized US intervention in Central America, making the case that America owes them something, suggesting that United States actions are responsible for causing "families, women and children to have to flee their countries, and now continue to suffer in Tijuana because of the humanitarian crises "caused by decades of US intervention in Central America."
One march organizer, Alfonso Guerreo Ulloa, explained the $50,000 deal.
He said, "It may seem like a lot of money to you...But it is a small sum compared to everything the United States has stolen from Honduras."
Is Trump wrong to want to secure the borders of the United States?
Nancy Pelosi, soon to be, once again, Speaker of the House and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with the president this week in the Oval Office to talk about the matter of the border.
Pelosi has repeatedly called the "Wall" immoral.
I mentioned the meeting on our live radio program yesterday---if you are a listener, indulge me.
Trump had invited the media. Pelosi and Schumer were visibly upset, repeatedly asking that the discussion "be in private," "please remove the cameras," etc.
After the public, transparent meeting that made the top two Democrats very uncomfortable, Pelosi said this to the press:
“I told him about King Solomon, when he was to become king of the Jews, he prayed to God, he said, ‘How can I ever follow King David? I need you to give me great understanding and wisdom, Lord.’ And after he prayed and prayed and prayed, God came to him and said, ‘Solomon, because you did not ask for longevity, great wealth, or vengeance against your enemies, I will give you more wisdom than anyone has ever had.’ The wisdom of Solomon.”
“It had nothing to do with that. It had everything to do with—let us be prayerful and listen to each other and have an understanding of where people are coming from on all of this. Whatever you think about it, how many times did he mention the word wall? That’s all he could say. How many times did he mention that? How obsessed he is with the wall. Is it worth shutting down the government and hurting the American people? The economy has uncertainty and people are losing their jobs and the market being in a mood, unpredictably, that again. Services being cut off from people who need them. It is not the right thing to do. It is the wrong thing to do and he shouldn’t do it no matter what he thinks of his campaign promise.”
Is the "Wall" immoral?
In a word, it isn't. If...you base your beliefs on biblical teaching.
If you base your beliefs on secular, progressive evolving truth, it can be moral or immoral or amoral---whatever you want it to be. To the relativistic progressive, truth is subjective and fluid.
However, the Bible is clear that national sovereignty is God's model for nations. And God approves of walls in that regard.
I have written a number of times on the subject in this column. This past July, I wrote an article specifically about whether "walls are moral." In the article I quote, among others, Dr. Wayne Gruden. Dr. Gruden is a professor of biblical ethics (for the past 41 years), and has written a paper titled, "Why building a Border Wall Is a Morally Good Action."
If you have personal questions regarding what the Bible says about the action of building walls to protect a culture and society, take a moment and read my July 25, 2018 article.
What about shutting down the government over funding the "wall?"
This week President Trump looked the Democrats and the world in the eye and said he believes the "wall" is so important to the security of America, that "Yes, I will shut down the government to get it done."
Outgoing Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan all but mocked the president's passion on the matter.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, once a foe of Trump, now a supporter, publicly applauded him for taking a stand and keeping his word to the American people.
All of this will play out over the next few days.
Fox News published an informative article yesterday, which explains what does, and does not happen in a so-called government shut down.
Be Prayerful. Be Informed. Be Discerning. Be Vigilant.