On the Immigration Disaster

On the Immigration Disaster (January 17, 2026)

Here is my prejudice: I like immigrants and think they should be respected and protected, regardless of how they came into the country. I have a lot of friends who are immigrants, good people who work hard and are beloved members of my community.

But…

I now get it that when there are too many immigrants coming in a disorganized way it has bad impacts on US communities near the border and beyond. In the past I didn’t understand this. When governors of border states sent busloads of immigrants north it pissed me off; it seemed like a cruel stunt. It probably was. And yet now I see that they had a point. They were bearing the brunt of the difficulty, I was pretty insulated from it (I live in Northern California).

So yes …

Despite my prejudice, I can see that the southern border needs to be tight. It wasn’t for a long time and that needed to change, and it has changed through efforts of both the Biden and Trump administrations.

And…

What about the people who are now in the country, legally or illegally, my friends and yours? Round them up and get rid of them? We see what that looks like. It is brutal and inhumane.

There are many possible ways of rounding people up, if you want to round people up. The way it is being done is maximally brutal. I feel sorry for the ICE agents who are being harassed. It must be nerve-wracking. But they are being harassed because their methodology, mandated by their superiors, is shocking and brutal.

Did many of these folks enter the country illegally? Did they take advantage of our government’s confusion and lack of political will to escape the bad situations they were in and find refuge here? Yes.

But…

Who wouldn’t in their situation, have done the same? It takes courage and energy to leave your home and family for a new land. You don’t do it unless you are driven to it. And it doesn’t make you a “criminal.” (Of course those who actually are criminals — there are criminals in every community — should be deported).

And..

In any case they are here, they are helping.

In 1986

Reagan signed the Immigration Control and Reform Act legalizing three million undocumented people who had entered the country before 1982. We should do that again, and take the massive funding that has been allocated for these brutal deportations and use it to further secure the border so that from now on there will be a humane and organized way to admit immigrants into the country.

Brutality, stinginess, resentment, and hatred are not emotions that can sustain a political culture, however justified you may feel them to be. Kindness fairness prudence wisdom and firmness are.

I am fairly certain that what I am saying here is more or less shared by all Americans who put religion, ethical conduct, and spiritual practice at the center of their lives, as I do.