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