Why My Judaism Compelled Me To Protest The Abuse Of Immigrants

This is going to be my "immigration speech". I'm a Christian, which means generally, I'm all about helping my fellow man. I was raised to believe that if I've got a dollar in my pocket, and someone next to me is starving...I have an obligation to do something about it. I largely joined the Military because I wanted to help the defenseless and the oppressed. While I was in Afghanistan, my team and I wrote back home to gather supplies for Pashtun families we encountered who needed help. Heck-we gave out stuffed animals to the kids. I'm Scots-Irish, so I dang sure have sympathy for the "immigrant". I've always considered Crazy Horse and Chief Joseph as American heroes on par with Audi Murphy and Alvin York.

So why do I support strong immigration policies and an impermeable border?

Simple; I don't want to see innocent people hurt. I don't think being from Honduras, Mexico, or Malaysia makes someone "less" than being from Knoxville. However, I do think that second and third world nations have problems we don't want to have here. Should we let people in? You bet...but we need to know who they are, why they are here, and what they intend to do. I'd bet serious money that most immigrants, legal or otherwise, are just looking for opportunities. Good on 'em. However, there's a process. Allowing thousands of "undocumented" folks across the border is like putting a sign on your home that says, "free stuff, c'mon in"...not everyone who responds has the best of intentions.

It's idealistic B.S. to not think that among the "tired, huddled masses, yearning to breathe free", there are not brutal criminals, radicals, and terrorists. It's also naive not to understand that when these people arrive sans any controls or expectations, they are, by necessity, operating under less than "legal" means to survive. Drug trafficking, prostitution, gangs...you name it. We NEED a way of stemming that flood, and given the numbers...it ain't an easy problem to solve.

Are there evil people who just don't like anyone who doesn't look and sound like them? Sure...but they are a minority. Are there problems created by overcrowding, lack of funds, or mere carelessness? Undoubtedly. Still, my sense of it is that most of the people "protesting" are simply ignorant of facts...or willfully supporting measures they hope will result in a fundamentally negative impact on our national security. If there are racists and xenophobes...so too are there anarchists and other radicals who hold equally harmful views.