Death Has Climbed In Through Our Windows

Through the excess of political rhetoric in this Presidential campaign cycle, much has been said about illegal immigration and Syrian refugees’ with terrorists embedded amongst them. Some would have us believe that there is no problem and that we should accept all those desiring asylum. The heart of the problem is that, given the chaotic nature of the political situation in Syria, it is impossible to properly vet those applying for refugee status. There are no public records capable of being accessed to verify the required persecution for each individual applying.

The prophet Jeremiah described a similar event happening just prior to the overtaking of the nation of Judah and hauling away of the tribes of Judah and Benjamin to their seventy-year incarceration in Babylon. In that case, Jeremiah was warning of foreign armies besieging Judah and Jerusalem. Jeremiah wrote, “Death has climbed in through our windows and has entered our fortresses; it has cut off the children from the streets and the young men from the public squares” (Jer. 9:21 NIV).

With the plethora of under-reported assaults by so-called refugees, there is ample reason to believe that not all are who they claim to be. It is strange that a significant number of “refugees” are single, war-fighter age males instead of the families with wives and children one would normally expect among so many desiring asylum in the Untired States. In addition, many seem to “disappear” into local enclaves shortly after arrival. Truly, it can be said, “death has climbed in through our windows.”

Emma Lazarus’ quote embossed on the Statue of Liberty memorializes the American ethos:

Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.

 Despite the intention to rescue oppressed people in accordance with our long-stated ethos as a nation of immigrants, we cannot, nor should we, be ignorant about it. There is a well-established process for application and granting of asylum. We must not weaken the process through ineffective and incomplete vetting of applicants through an overabundance of weak-kneed, saccharin tolerance.  

Jeremiah wrote:

This is what the LORD says: "Do not learn the ways of the nations or be terrified by signs in the sky, though the nations are terrified by them. For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter. Like a scarecrow in a melon patch, their idols cannot speak; they must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them; they can do no harm nor can they do any good (Jer. 10:2-5 NIV).

Just as Jeremiah warned the people of Judah and Benjamin, we will only weaken our nation if we adopt the ways of the nations. Too large a number of immigrants come with absolutely no intention of assimilation into the American ethos. This denies us the opportunity to enrich our culture and employ a common language. There are some who would change us to become like them in language, law, and religion. If they want to maintain their language, law, and religion, they should return to their country of origin.