To the Editor:
Along with my wife Xochitl and three other women from Statesville, I had the privilege on Wednesday, November 19, to act as scouts in Charlotte for Siembra NC. Siembra NC is a grassroots organization that, among many other endeavors, serves as an ICE watch program. As a scout, you are asked to patrol routes that are frequented by ICE. In this case, we were monitoring Border Patrol agents who were active in Charlotte. If we encountered them, we were asked to alert others of their whereabouts. If the Border Patrol personnel were actively detaining someone, we were to record their actions and try to gather the name of the individual being detained and contact information so their loved ones could be contacted.
We encountered eight Border Patrol vehicles, which had created a barrier around an active detainment of a Hispanic woman. She had been walking from a grocery store when they spotted her. After she attempted to flee, they had her detained behind a small store. Our small group, which grew to a much larger group including neighbors, shop owners, and customers, confronted them and started recording their actions. The agents actively detaining the woman and the woman were out of view behind the building. When they emerged from behind the building the woman’s face was an image of terror that I had never seen before. We spoke to the woman, asking her to tell us her name. She turned to us and collapsed to the ground. She was quickly picked up by the Border Patrol agents and put into a truck and driven away.
After we got back into our vehicle, I began to weep.
We’ve been told that “illegal aliens” are criminals and need to be removed from our country. What I saw was a terrified woman who had been walking back from a grocery store. Her life had changed in an instant. She looked far from a criminal to me.
My friend, Steve Shoemaker, recently wrote an article in the Baptism News entitled “Forgiving the church.” This got me thinking a lot about the idea of forgiveness and how I can forgive our country for the culture of fear that has been created for brown people today. In understanding history, I forgave our country for the displacement of Native Americans, including the Trail of Tears, the forced walk that started in Western N.C. and left thousands dead. I forgave our country for the institution of slavery that plagued our country for more than two centuries. I forgave our country for the Jim Crow era that created a second-class system with limited rights and opportunities for Black people through intimidation and violence. I forgave our country when America citizens of Japanese heritage were rounded up during World War II and placed in internment camps and treated like prisoners.
It’s often said we should learn from history so we don’t repeat it. It appears, as a nation, that we have difficulty learning from our past.
How do I forgive a country that is creating such a culture of fear right now for our brown neighbors and friends but given me so much, a country that has blessed me with a life filled with freedom, education, access to its natural beauty and opportunity to generate wealth to allow me to live comfortably and share?
Our nation is a human institution. As my friend Steve wrote, to begin to forgive does not mean hiding from past misdeeds, but embracing them and confessing our brokenness and the ways we’ve wounded the lives of others.
Leaders will emerge and a time of healing and growth in how we care for and love each other will come. After each of those misdeeds I shared, a period came afterwards of confession and growth of empowerment and opportunity for those our country had hurt. Perhaps not always to the degree wished or not without setbacks, but our nation did heal and grow.
Maya Angelou has a wonderful quote: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better do better.”
I know many are doing the best we can until our nation knows better. And when our nation knows better, I know as a nation we will do better.
John Koppelmeyer
Statesville
INTERFERING WITH BORDER PATROL OR WARNING ILLEGALS SHOULD BE A CRIME.
What a Christian you are, sir! Congratulations!!!
You break the law there are consequences, and some of the consequences are drastic. But have you thought that if our last president would have enforced the law and the Democrat-run states and cities would cooperate with the ICE officials these drastic consequences would be far and few between. The lawlessness of the last administration and the sanctuary cities created this problem. When we allow millions into our country without a plan, we create chaos and that is what the Democrats have done by design. And the chaos has to be corrected to protect our freedoms you mentioned like education. Our young people’s education is being destroyed by the millions of illegals attending our schools. So I believe you are saying that it is okay for our country to be destroyed so the illegals have a place to live, and live off of American citizens taxpayer money. By the way were you heartbroken when the Great Deporter in Chief Obama was picking up illegals? I don’t recall any complaints then.
Leviticus 19:33-34 states, “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.”
Thank you, John. There has to be a better and different way. I have no idea what the answers are, but there has to be. 🥲
Thanks for your input. The term-“illegal aliens” is being used by the current administration to blend these harmless people who came here seeking safety and opportunity for a better life with hardened criminal illegal aliens. “They’re ILLEGAL!” is the only reply given by this administration. How sad. Watch people. Watch how those that wash our dishes, look after our children, or landscape our yards are spirited into unmarked vehicles by masked men to satisfy a irrational immigration policy. I’d like to see dangerous illegal aliens caught and sent elsewhere too, but I only see those who are no threat to us being rounded up.
Amen! If we go into other countries ILLEGALY much worse would happen to us. Laws are to obey for the good of all. If the ILLEGAL border crossers did not first break our laws they would not be in the situation they are in. Think of how it would be if we did not have any laws!!
The correct term that should be used is “undocumented immigrants”. I agree there should be a better way of dealing with the working immigrants and their families and focus on the violent criminals that this president promised to do in his campaign speeches.
The undocumented immigrants who have worked for me are much more dependable and hard working than ordinary citizens who typically are more interested in over charging than doing good work.
Great story!
Beautifully and factually said, John.
Wonderful words, JOHN. Thank you and all the others for your bravery and opening the eyes hopefully of many that are blinded by HATE.
John: If you want to make an omelet, you have to break a few eggs.
My husband was ran over by an illegal immigrant. No NC license. Texting and had drugs. We have to live with it every day.
John: Interfering with Federal Law Enforcement Agents by Actively Aiding & Abetting those “ILLEGALLY” in Our Country is a Very Serious Crime in Itself!!! By the way, Exactly Where were You When BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA Was Deporting so many Illegally in USA!?! Or Do You Simply Suffer From TDS!!!
Heartfelt thanks to the group you were with! Ignore the comments from those seeking to blame others for what is happening now and who glorify a sexual predator.
I have observed those who try to deny and even alter history. They do nothing to make today and tomorrow better for everyone. Living in the past is stagnant. Not learning from the past is not only ignorant and incompetent, but dangerous.
Wonder if you weep when Americans get locked up for doing something illegal.
Dear John: Given your liberal views and the fact you do not believe that being an “illegal alien” is crime, I respectfully ask you to move out of my county and into Mecklenburg County. Perhaps even to a country where the laws do not matter. I have served my country to protect people like you so you can spew your beliefs. Your actions to work against the government in helping these illegals avoid the law is disgusting. With Thanksgiving less than a week away, give some thought to what you are doing and perhaps that thing between your ears will work and you may see the light in your corrupted views. God bless.
Leviticus 19:33-34 states that foreigners should be treated as citizens of the land, and to love them as you would your own citizens.
God Bless? After that comment? That’s a little using the Lord’s name in vain. I respectfully ask you move out of my county. See how idiotic that sounds? 🤣🤣🤣
Thank you for writing this. Very moving.
Thanks, John, for your views. When we have felons and criminals rule the nation, it looks like it would be acceptable for harmless undocumented residents to be in the country, but we cannot allow criminal activity among this group. We cannot deny the fact that most of us survived here by illegally replacing the Native Americans.
Those of us living on land stolen from Native Americans by our ancestors don’t have any moral authority to judge others who also come to this land to work and provide a better life for their families.