Child Immigration Crisis: Dr. Chip Anderson Speaks Out

Few stories have pricked our sensibilities in recent months more than that of children who have illegally immigrated to the United States from Central America. While this has been happening for a few years, the reason it has finally come into the national spotlight is the sheer numbers of these immigrants—more than 57,000. Those numbers do not appear to be diminishing in the near future. Naturally, this has prompted spirited debate from both the right and the left; the conservative right wants to take care of interests at home and are worried about the entrance of great numbers of children that our system is unprepared to handle and our economy unprepared to support; the liberal right is concerned about the fate of these children, fearing to return them to devastating poverty and unsanitary conditions.

However, what is often lost amidst the endless criticism of various political ideologies and their proponents is the simple fact that the children’s arrival in the United States is not the root of the situation; it is only a symptom. With that in mind, CFCI president Dr. Duane “Chip” Anderson appeared on Omaha’s Christian talk radio station, 660 KCRO. Though his full interview is below, here are some key points to give some perspective on the national immigrant children crisis.

·         There are two things that are driving this immigration:

o   The rumor that amnesty for illegals is on the horizon in the United States

o   The looming threat of gang-related violence to these kids or their families, especially if the child does not want to join a gang

·         Eighty-four percent of these immigrant children are teens

·         These families are in such desperation over their current situation that they are willing to pay enormous sums of money for the possibility that their child would enter the United States

·         By building a better, safer, stronger community, you can prevent these families from having to make these terrible decisions

·         Christ For the City International is directly involved in these dangerous Central American communities to provide safe havens for these teenagers through tutoring, soccer programs, medical clinics, and vocational training

·         In El Salvador alone, we CFCI is positively influencing about 450 kids and their families, probably about 3,000 people total


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Check back tomorrow for our second post about this important and challenging issue.