Come Jan. 20, on the inaugural day of his second term, President-elect Trump has promised voters that he will begin a massive deportation effort. It is a deeply menacing threat without any indication of how matters of due process, human rights, respect of persons, respect of families and other matters of human dignity, justice and mercy will govern the deportation. And though we see indications that some Republicans will try to tone down Mr. Trump’s threats, many members of the party that will take control of every branch of our government on that day have not taken any evident steps to address the massive deportation itself.
I, for one, am not waiting for Inauguration Day. I think the threat of mass deportation needs to be urgently addressed by bishops, teachers, theologians, politicians and preachers. We cannot wait to see what happens, especially since the President-elect insists that he means business on that day.
James F. Keenan, S.J., in America