Fugitives or Felons

"And all they will call you will be deportee." -- Woody Guthrie

If jobs were available at home, there would be no reason to leave.

Is a puzzlement.

   Every day, hundreds of children, mothers and desperate fathers rush across the Texas border and surrender to the first uniformed American they see. Many are from Central American countries such as Honduras who are fleeing violence, corruption and lack of opportunity in their home countries, and make the long trek through the length of Mexico hoping to get to America and safety.
   What prompts the exodus? Aside from the historic reasons, they hope to gain safety through a federal law passed in the last days of the Bush II Administration, specifying that illegal immigrants from Central American countries cannot be immediately deported. (Mexico was not covered in the law.) The law's purpose was to protect those who were being forced into prostitution and other nefarious activities, but its possible protection is now being sought by others.
   Meanwhile, many who live near the border have mounted huge protests, and are demanding that all those who cross the border illegally be sent back.
   But sent back to where?

   Are children to be considered felons simply because they seek safety? Are mothers to be deported to the very places they seek to escape? And whatever happened to the historic offer of help for refugees?

   Historically, Americans have stepped in to provide a refuge for people in other countries who have suffered because of war, corruption, disease and other causes. Those who have fled such situations have long found safe harbor in America.
   Ultimately, a full solution would be to make their home countries safe, with jobs, food, clothing and shelter available to all. Simply put, if jobs and safety were available at home, there would be no reason to leave.
   A full solution, of course, would be for governments in the home countries to crack down on criminal gangs who terrorize the population. But if these governments themselves are part of the problem, by being inept and taking bribes from the gangs, or even participating in criminal suppression of the people, what then is the solution? Intervention by a foreign government, in this case the U.S., is not a viable option. America is not, and should not be, police for the world.

   Meanwhile, however, as desperate mothers and children seek a safe haven, Americans have  a moral obligation to help.
   It has happened many times before. What cause withholds us now to weep for them?