Border Update

At the end of March I (Richard) was fortunate to be able to take a trip to the border between El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico. It was a short trip, but very insightful. We made the trip with a non-profit group called Abara. The trip was organized by Pastor Matt Adams from Westside Family Church. The trip was organized into 3 main parts: classroom time, a presentation from the border patrol, and a short excursion into Juarez to visit a shelter housing refugees. I wanted to just share some bullet points of what I learned on that trip.

1. El Paso's self-identify is distinct from the rest of Texas in many ways. They identify more with the west (New Mexico looking) than with the rest of Texas. Two examples: they are on their own power grid and in a different time zone!
2. El Paso and Juarez operated as one unified city for many years with people crossing back and forth between the two cities for work, to visit family, and for shopping. That began to change after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Yes, the "wall" (literally and figuratively speaking) began long before 2016.
3. Migration and the story of God's people is closely intertwined. Abraham's departure from his country and his kindred and his father's house "to the land that [God showed]" him is one example. The Exodus, the Babylonian captivity, and the dispersion of the Jews from Rome in the New Testament era are a few more examples.
4. The Border Patrol is charged with preventing illegal entry into the United States between the ports of entry. They have an overwhelming amount of territory to cover and homeland security is their top priority. They are mostly second generation immigrants themselves with a fierce sense of duty to their country that makes them good at their job. Their job is three fold: apprehend, identify and process (either into the US or out of the US) was not originally meant to include detaining and housing hundreds (if not thousands) of immigrants attempting to enter the United States.
5. The "Push-Pull" factors behind immigration are often very diverse and complicated as reflected in the human story. Compassionate wisdom and discernment is needed. This type of compassionate, discerning wisdom cannot originate with man. This truth is increasingly being rejected by the powers that govern us.
6. Man as a political animal will exploit the helpless to his/her own advantage and then make themselves look like a functional savior-of-the-day on the far side of the election. This has to be one of the most sickening realities in our world today. Jesus wept.
7. Border walls are not built to keep out law-abiding people but the drug smugglers, human trafficking, law-breaking individuals bent on doing harm. But in a fallen world, there are many people who are fleeing their homes in order to seek a better life. These people are further exploited by the individuals bent on doing harm. Yet, the "legal" path to immigration is so far behind that applications to "legally immigrate" are some 20 years behind. If the vast army of IRS workers would transfer to immigration, it would solve many of our problems.
8. We need a border, period. We need compassionate, discerning wisdom in deciding who can cross that border, period. May God have mercy on us and our children as we continue to face the difficulties of immigration, human suffering, and the hope of legal migration.

This is a brief summary of the short three-day trip to the border. I'd like to go back when I can stay longer and serve the people there. Here is a short excerpt from my journal from El Paso on 3/30/23.
"In El Paso this week for a border experience. The situation here is evidently changing always- perhaps depending on the White House policy. We have been saying for sometime that God determines the boundaries and habitation (time and place) of EVERY man, woman and child here on His terrestrial ball- and so at some point we have to decide if we really mean it or if we are going to quite saying it."
Acts 17:26-27 to you so that they should seek God,
-Richard Casebolt