Post by: Esther Neds
Again the word of the Lord came to me: “Son
of man, say to the land, ‘You are a land that has not been cleansed or rained
on in the day of wrath.’ The people of the land practice
extortion and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and
mistreat the foreigner, denying them justice. “I
looked for someone among them who would . . . stand before me in the gap on
behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one.
-Ezekiel 22:23-24, 29-30 (NIV)
God had some severe criticism of Israel in Ezekiel, part of
which was the mistreatment and lack of justice for the poor and the foreigner. Today,
we see the same mistreatment and injustice happening at our southern border. Regardless
of your policy stance regarding immigration, I hope we can all agree that the
migrants at our southern border deserve protection for their basic human
rights.
U.S. policy, called the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP), ironically puts migrants
in danger and does nothing to protect them. It is colloquially called the "Remain in Mexico" policy. This policy applies to migrants who have come to the
US border to request asylum, a legal process for those who fear persecution
from their home country on the basis of race,
religion, nationality, and/or membership in a particular social group or
political opinion. This segment of migrants is already vulnerable, and this MPP
policy makes them even more so. After the migrants have requested asylum and
had an initial interview, they are sent across the border into Mexico to wait
for the day in immigration court to prove they qualify as an asylee. However,
because there are many more applicants than courts, the backlog is horrendous,
and these migrants could be waiting for years.
This policy has
created a set of dangerous problems for migrants. The border cities in Mexico
are dangerous with kidnappings and violence a common occurrence. Human Rights
First, a non-profit, nonpartisan international human rights organization,
published a report in August 2019 that found more than 110 publicly reported
cases of rape, kidnapping, sexual exploitation, assault, and other violent
crimes were committed against migrants in the MPP who were sent back to Mexico,
and that number is likely only the tip of the iceberg. In addition, during the
first 6 months of 2019, when the MPP was first implemented, kidnappings in Ciudad
Juárez, a border city near El Paso, increased one hundred percent.
Further, the
attorneys who would be able to represent these migrants are in the US, and most
of them cannot or will not represent someone who lives across on the Mexico side
of the border because of the logistical complications. In addition, the
migrants generally do not have a consistent address in Mexico because they are
staying at shelters and moving around to stay safe, and so the courts in the US
have a difficult time sending the migrants notice of their courts. This has
resulted in migrants missing their court dates because of insufficient notice.
The MPP has been
legally challenged and is making its way through the court system, but
regardless of whether it is legal or not, this policy is endangering the lives
of foreigners and making justice for them difficult, if not impossible. In
Ezekiel, God was looking for someone to stand up against the injustice in
Israel’s culture, but He found no one. Who will stand up for the foreigners
today?
This post was written by a Center for Global
Justice student staff member. The views expressed in
this post do not necessarily reflect those of Regent University,
Regent Law School, or the Center for Global Justice.
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