IMMIGRATION: History will judge us

History will judge us as a people and a nation. How did we get here? How did we go from a nation once defined by the words, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” to a country that hunts down those exact people and locks them in detention centers?

Too many of us turn our eyes away, dismissing everything we don’t want to see or hear as “fake news.” I recently watched a CBS Sunday Morning report on the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, where conditions are deplorable. Some will try to write that reporting off as partisan bias, but even by this administration’s own data, 97% of those detained have committed no crime other than trying to build a safer, better life for their families.

For a minute, close your eyes and imagine you weren’t born into safety. Imagine you were born in a country where you had no rights, no security and no prospects for your children. Would you be brave enough to cross a border for a chance at survival?

We justify our cruelty by repeating baseless political talking points — claiming these families are criminals, or that they are taking our jobs and living off welfare. Worse yet, we even wrap this behavior around Christianity, twisting the faith to excuse our lack of compassion. Those are comfortable lies we tell ourselves just so we can feel self-righteous.

DAVE KOSANKE
Post Falls