Pastor Kevin Jobe’s Cincinnati Post editorial

What in the world is wrong with us? We are the nation for whom the Statue of liberty, symbolic beacon to the world’s tired, poor and wretched, stands as a symbol of welcome. We are the nation that calls itself the melting pot; the one which supposedly prides itself on being an unparalleled tapestry of races, cultures and ethnicities living together in a harmony the rest of the world cannot muster. Why then, after largely ignoring our own immigration laws for a generation plus, are we now so bent on enforcement that we stand on the verge of committing ourselves to one of the largest forced human migrations in all of recorded history? Does no one in a place of power have any idea of the ramifications of such thinking? What sort of behaviors will it lead us into?

Will it lead us to large scale raids for “criminals” which net overwhelming majorities of people whose only crime has been to overstay a visa because they love the USA? Last week, it did. Will we coerce, mislead, and lie to these men and women (without criminal history) we have rounded up in order to force their signatures on deportation papers? Last week, we did. Will we become so bent on carrying out “law enforcement” that we are willing to trash the spirit of our own US Constitution, spit on the Statue of Liberty and then raise ourselves up as champions of the American way? Last week, that happened. Shame on us all.

There is no question that our immigration policies need major reparations, but our current course of action is insanity. If this goes unchecked, the world’s greatest defender of human rights will go down in the annals of history in a manner that will not read well. Alongside the Trail of Tears and the shiploads of slaves, we’ll be known for the mass deportation of 11 million people and their children. The last world leaders to do this on such a level were named Stalin and Hitler. Is this what we want for the greatest country on earth?

Please don’t let this stand! Raise your voice! Call your US Representative or Senator, State Senator or Representative, the office of ICE or Governor Strickland and insist that this madness stops. What in the world is wrong with us?

Pastor Kevin Jobe
Grace Church
A United Methodist Congregation in Norwood