In light of the current political controversy regarding South American children illegally crossing into the US - this one is particularly poignant. He quotes Maimonides crash on Exodus 22:21 - 23, “A person must be especially heedful of his behavior toward widows and orphans, because their souls are deep depressed and their spirits low.”
Why would a parent send a child, alone, on a journey from South America to the US - knowing the dangers involved, and the likelihood that the children will face terrible hardship in making the trip? I cannot imagine saying goodbye to my kids under such conditions. A report on NPR this morning quoted a gentleman saying that, “Alot of these kids are boys, 14, 15, 16, 17 with gang tattoos. Are these the kind of people we want in our towns?”
It is easy to assume that teenage boys with gang tattoos are going to become teenage boys with criminal records. But is that reason enough to refuse entrance to ALL of these immigrants? I can only imagine how my great grandparent might have been labelled, “Jews, they don’t speak any English, they have no skills, they’re COMMUNISTS!” I find it very difficult to get past this part of the conversation. Weren’t ALL of our ancestors coming to this country in search of a better life? Were all of the young men who arrived criminals?
My great grandmother came over with no “skills” - but she raised her sons, and took in the friends and relatives of other Romanian newcomers; another set of great grandparents were part of a family that began a chain of clothing stores in western Pennsylvania and Ohio. Their primary goal in coming to America was to make a better life for the descendants. Who knows the dreams of the children arriving today? Who knows what they might achieve, given the chance.
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