Refugees Need Not Apply by Antonio Aja
My father and I left Cuba for Spain when I was 14 years old. The situation in communist Cuba at the time became untenable for our family. My mother chose to remain behind to care for her ailing mother.
Under the provisions of the first Cuban Adjustment Act[1], my father and I applied for political asylum in Spain. After approximately one year both were able to travel to the U.S. as ‘’green card’’ holders and join family in Miami. Thirteen years later my mother joined us.
Those, of course, were different geo-political times when people escaping communist countries were considered as refugees and given priority to enter the U.S. Also, under still current international law, an asylum seeker is,
‘’…a person who, from fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, social group, or political opinion, has crossed an international frontier into a country in which he or she hopes to be granted refugee status.’’[2]
Recently, the Trump administration launched its “zero tolerance” policy[3], which basically punishes immigrants who cross the border asking for relief from the persecution, ostracism and even physical harm they find in their countries. Most of these asylum seekers come from Central American nations such as Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador where the living conditions are deteriorating rapidly due to violence and political upheaval in most cases prompted by the legacy left in those countries by American intrusions over the years, both political and corporate.
Many women are escaping domestic violence as well. Hundreds of transgender women have also crossed the border trying to escape from physical harm and even death due to the extreme homophobia and transphobia still present in their countries.
This inhumane ‘’zero tolerance’’ policy leaves asylum seekers languishing in private for-profit detention centers for weeks or months without the opportunity to present their asylum claims – and interview with an asylum officer called a ‘’credible fear’’ interview – or request release from imprisonment.
Moreover, parents are being separated from their children at record numbers, creating both physical and psychological wounds that will live with the families, but specially the children, for the rest of their lives. At this writing thousands of migrant children still remain separated from their parents in detention centers.[4]
Attorney General Sessions had the audacity of quoting Scripture to justify these cruel policies, saying that the Apostle Paul issued a “wise command” to obey the government.
As a former asylum seeker and refugee, as well as a Christian pastor, I find these policies totally abhorrent and cruel, contrary not only to the purported ideals of the United States of American, but also to every Christian principle found in Scripture.
We are grateful that religious organizations of every faith, including the Presbyterian Church (USA), have spoken forcefully and frequently on these issues, condemning these acts of cruelty toward vulnerable people.
Here is an excerpt from ‘’A Call for Compassion in U.S. Immigration Policy’’ by Presbyterian Women in the PC(USA), Inc.
We call on our nation, citizens and governors to live into our best vision for ourselves: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all [people] are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” We ask our leaders and our people to act according to universal human values of caring for others, of treating others as we would be treated. Our own Statue of Liberty espouses our earlier compassion as a nation: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free . . . Send these, the tempest-tost to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”[5]
May God find us faithful…
The Rev. Dr. Antonio (Tony) Aja is a minister member of the Presbytery of Santa Fe, Presbyterian Church (USA), and currently serves as pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is the current moderator for the National Hispanic/Latino Presbyterian Caucus (PCUSA) and an adjunct professor at McCormick Theological Seminary.
A former refugee from Cuba, Tony has developed new ministries with refugees and immigrants in Florida and Kentucky. He has been a missionary, executive director of an ecumenical community ministry and staff at PC(USA) headquarters and Mid-Kentucky Presbytery. Tony has served in local and national boards and committees dealing with social justice and immigrant and refugee issues. He has helped develop grass-roots organizations with both local and national scope. Tony is a regular contributor to denominational and ecumenical publications on immigration and intercultural issues.
Tony is happily married to Elder Loyda P. Aja, and they have three grown children: Alan (married to Wendy Trull); Vanessa (married to the Rev. David Aja-Sigmon); and Bryan (married to Misty Schmidt). Loyda and Tony are the proud grandparents of Lucas Joaquin, Liam Elian Antonio, and Jesse Miguel. They share their home in Santa Fe with their dogs Lucy and Patrick.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_Adjustment_Act; https://www.termpaperwarehouse.com/essay-on/Cuban-Adjustment-Act-Of-1966/245581
[2] https://www.thefreedictionary.com/asylum+seeker
[3] https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/attorney-general-announces-zero-tolerance-policy-criminal-illegal-entry
[4] https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/immigration-border-crisis/migrant-children-parents-still-separated-after-reunifications-ask-what-about-n895946
[5] https://www.presbyterianwomen.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/PW-on-immigration.pdf