Trump and Illegal Immigrants

Dear COAH,

The US presidential election took place last Tuesday, with Trump defeating Harris by a much larger margin than expected. With a majority in the Senate, he will have an easier time passing many of his policies. One of them is ban on illegal immigration. President-elect Trump has had some harsh words for illegal immigrants. He has said that they are polluting the blood of America, and that if the Mexican government doesn't stop the criminals and drugs coming through Mexico, he will impose a 25% tariff on all goods coming into the US from Mexico. When he takes office, Trump will certainly be tough on the Mexican border control.

Another issue Trump will tackle is the deportation of illegal immigrants already living in the United States. Trump has already vowed 'no price tag’ on deporting millions, but I wonder how he will deport millions and millions of illegal residents.

According to the estimate from the American Immigration Council, deporting illegal immigrants currently in the U.S. would require eight times as many detention facilities and a cost of $88 billion USD per one million undocumented immigrants per year.

Canada, by virtue of being American’s northern neighbour, also faces the same problem of facing illegal immigrants from the south. Many of those residing in the US will choose to escape to Canada. This isn't just a prediction, but a reality, and we'll need to be prepared for it. Some illegal immigrants living in the U.S. will seek refuge in Canada and apply for refugee status.

We as Canadians have humanitarian responsibility to accept refugee claims from anyone who has suffered severe political persecution and feels his or her life is in danger. The problem is that many, if not most, of these people coming from the US will not be political refugees, but migrants seeking a better life. The amount of administrative support and facilities required to process these applications is going to be a huge burden on all of us.

Be prepared to see many seeking asylums in our midst. Here is my question: how will we ever know who is really telling the truth? In the world we live in, where the gap between rich and poor will only get worse, it will become harder and harder to live a generous and hospitable life. I am afraid that our hearts will harden too fast. Let us pray that this will not happen. Instead, let us seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
 

Blessings,
Pastor Minho Song