Trump Loves Christians – Unless They’re Iraqi

[Gomez Adams]

I have never been a particularly religious man. I’ve always had my own thoughts on God, the universe and my place in it. That said, it has always amazed me how Christians, or rather “so-called” Christians act.

According to the Bible, Jesus taught love, forgiveness and brotherhood. He was of the opinion that you should love your neighbor as you love yourself. Wise words indeed; and were we to even remotely follow them the world would be a far better place in which to live.

Which brings us to the United States of American under Donald J. Trump. Trump made no secret at any point in his life how racist he is. Even on the campaign trail he insulted Mexicans, Middle Easterners, just about everybody that wasn’t white and wasn’t born here.

And who backed him all the way?

Christians. The so-called “evangelicals” who call themselves Christians. So, how do you get from “love your neighbor as you love yourself” to “to hell with those fence jumpers, let ’em starve”?

Simple. Racism. That’s how it’s done. Which brings us to the present situation facing Iraqi immigrants in the United States.

Lately, the Trump regime has been doing everything they can to not only stop immigration on a wholesale level, but to round up and deport anybody that isn’t a U.S. Citizen. There have been hundreds of Iraqis rounded up and deported back to Iraq. Many of them wind up dead.

You see, Iraq is a Muslim state much like Iran. We wont get into the Sunni vs. Shia conversation, but suffice to say that when Islamic State took over a good portion of Northern Iraq one of the first things they did was start rounding up Christians and putting them to the sword. Sometimes literally.

This went on for a few years and in some places continue to this day. Although Iraqi and U.S. forces have claimed to have eliminated Islamic State, there are quite a few militia groups made up of those same members of Islamic State in operation in Iraq. These militia groups swear allegiance to Iran.

For those of you who don’t know, being a Christian in Iran is pretty much a death sentence. It is illegal in Iran to distribute or display any Christian symbols or literature. They will kill you for it.

So back in Iraq, these militia groups are carrying on “God’s good work” on behalf of Iran by abducting, beating, torturing and killing Christians.
That brings us back to those poor, unfortunate, Iraqi immigrants. Many have been here for years. Decades even.

And now they face deportation back to Iraq where they will in all likelihood face the same fate as others already have.

This is where the United States is supposed to step in. We have a thing called ‘asylum’. That basically means that if someone would face harassment, persecution and/or death if deported, we’re supposed to protect them by letting them stay here.

Enter the Trump regime.

Just this past September, a Mr. Hallam Ferguson stated that:

…a government commission that in the part of northern Iraq where many Christians live, militias aligned with Iran “terrorize those families brave enough to have returned, extort local businesses and openly pledge allegiance to Iran.”
In some towns, the numbers of Christians who have returned after the defeat of the Islamic State “have reached only 1 to 2% because of persecution by these militias. While the Iraqi government has pledged to rein in these militias, they continue to operate with impunity in many areas, with the authorities seemingly unable or unwilling to confront them.”
Source

Now at the very same time Mr. Ferguson was making that statement, Michael Rubin at the request of the Department of Homeland Security said that:

Iraqi Christians could count on the state’s protection and are “largely immune” from politically motivated violence. “For the past several years, Iraq’s Shi’ite-majority government and security forces have worked to secure Christian churches and Christian neighborhoods. It is the elected Iraqi government which is now in control of Iraq.”
Source

Seriously? How on earth could he have come up with that? There is still ongoing violence, unrest and in many areas, including the north, complete chaos. How could you have such polar opposite statements made at the same exact time?

At any rate, many Trump administration lawyers over at Immigration are using Michael Rubins’ statement to justify deporting these Iraqi Christians despite all evidence to the contrary. Essentially, the Trump administration is sentencing them to death. All the while, Trump is talking out of the other side of his mouth as usual.

Just two months ago at a speech in Michigan in January, Trump said that he was extending the stay of these poor, unfortunate Iraqis until they could find out for sure if it was safe to deport them. Of course, none of that was true as the trials to deport them never stopped and the effort to deport them has continued unabated to this day.

To make matters worse, Steven Cook, a Middle East expert at the Council on Foreign Relations, said this after his visit to Iraq in December:

“My view aligns more closely with USAID. Iraq seems to be in a situation of terminal collapse. With the continued presence of extremists and the unreliable central government, I find it hard to believe that Christians are safe and secure.”
Source

Is this what we’ve become? A nation so hell bent on racism, intolerance and hate that we knowingly send people to their deaths?
What’s more, who is waving the flag, loving Trump and supporting him for doing this?

The Christians, that’s who.

So I guess, in the end, it’s “love your neighbor as you love yourself, so long as he’s white and was born in the U.S.”

John 11:35 – Jesus wept.