Behind the Headlines: The Human Side of Immigration with William Hannah

There's something to be said for feeling safe also that we take for granted, I think.

But, you know, as time goes by, I feel less and less completely safe than I did, say, 20, 30 years ago.

my brief stint with the Episcopalians, I read one line that stayed with me in a book of common prayer that said, only in thee can we dwell in safety.

And every night when I lock my door, I think that, only in thee.

This door, it's got glass in it for crying out loud.

I mean, what do I think? Somebody couldn't take their elbow and bash that glass in? So I think there's an overriding desire for safety Uh, giving up some freedoms to be safe concerns me a little bit that we're willing to go to great lengths to give up freedoms for what we determined to be safety.

What has been the input of your faith into your compassion, your heart for these people who are seeking a better life here?

I've had the opportunity to go and speak to several church groups around Kansas City, around Missouri.

And the way we've usually done that is the pastor speaks to the group first and gives his interpretation or tells the congregation whatever he wants to tell them about what the Christian obligation is to the immigrant community, to the stranger, right, to the immigrant community.

And it's usually best for the group to hear that from their own pastor than hear that from me, right? And then I can get up and just explain some basic things like we've talked about today, like what's the difference between...

someone seeking asylum or a refugee, or what a green card is, what a legal permanent resident is.

But I always start that group and say, okay, for my very first slide, I'm going to show you all the Bible verses that specifically tell us what the American immigration system should be.

And then the next slide is always blank.

Because I don't think the Bible necessarily tells us exactly what the American immigration system should be any more than it tells us what our tariffs should be or what our international policy should be towards Canada or Greenland or anywhere else.

But again, we can be a lawful nation and a welcoming nation.

We can do both.

It's an American problem.

It's not a Republican problem.

It's not a Democrat problem.

It is an American problem.

And I say that Because if we look at it, it's just a problem created by the other team that no one really has any responsibility or accountability to try and solve it.

And I really shouldn't call it a problem.

I should really say it's an issue.

But if we realize that we're in this position together and we all, for the most part, all have the same goals, it makes it much easier to be able to solve.

But I do feel like I don't know if the Bible tells us a lot of things, like you say, about what should be our policy on taxes or health care or the policy on Iceland or Greenland or any other country.