Border Patrol, ICE and Christian Nationalism

Underneath all of the false rhetoric concerning mass deportations from the Trump Administration about how undocumented immigrants and even legal immigrants are draining our coffers, stealing our jobs and committing violent crimes all across this country lies a larger problem no one seems willing to discuss: many of the leaders of these agencies believe they are chosen by God to lay waste to the undesirables. 

This does not mean that every single agent is a Christian Nationalist. A fair percentage of agents simply needed a job. Like any other job, especially when you are only sixteen years of age, it takes a while to understand the system. And yes, they are hiring 16 year olds to be federal agents. Others join these agencies because they are sociopaths, some even psychopaths, and they see opportunities to find their victims. But more often than not, those joining the immigration enforcement agencies are either outright Christian Nationalists or leaning towards that ideology. 

Don’t believe me? Watch this latest taxpayer funded propaganda video put out by Chief Bovino. It is not a mistake that all the visible agents are white.

Isaiah is from the Old Testament. Chief Bovino did not put the entire verse in this video, but I believe it is important.

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory.”

At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”

Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”

And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”

He said, “Go and tell this people: Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving. Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted
and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”

For those of you who are not well-versed in Bible speak, and I am in no way an expert in this, let me explain what the chief is telling Americans. Isaiah sees and hears God’s voice and realizes he is not pure, that he is a man who has sinned. A seraphim (angel) touches Isaiah’s lip with a hot coal that purifies him and forgives his sins. Now he feels he can serve God. When God then asks for someone to lay waste to a sinful people, Isaiah offers his services.

God then warns Isaiah what will be expected of him and the men who follow him. They will have to do horrible and violent things and must harden their hearts, look past what they see, ignore what they hear. They must be strong to rid the world of these evil doers. 

When Isaiah asks how long he will be commanded to do these horrible acts, God replies until the cities are all destroyed, the homes are abandoned, their fields and farms are ruined and no one can inhabit them. And even then, God will demand Isaiah do it again to ensure that no sinners, that no evil remains. Only then will the earth be cleansed.

It is important to know that there are many Christian churches along the border who teach this type of extremist Christian ideology. These churches cater to law enforcement, especially Border Patrol. They are xenophobic, Christian Nationalists who engage in men only violent revivals that last for days. They preach that immigrants are invaders, and that immigration agents are heroes enforcing God’s will. 

Many Border Patrol agents devoutly attend these churches. These are the same agents who have been arrested for child sexual assault, rape, drug dealing, sex trafficking and even murder. They engage in criminal activities while also believing they are chosen by God for this mission. This why they see no problem with arresting and deporting immigrants for minor misdemeanors, while they engage in violent crimes themselves.

They are chosen.

This ideology is clearly shown in Chief Bovino’s video. Bovino and many of his agents know they are sinners, but they believe they are preparing the United States for God. They believe they must be brutal and cruel - close their eyes and ears to the violence they bring. They must remove and even kill all those they deem as invaders, subhumans and non-Christians. 

With the U.S. Border Patrol taking over CBP and ICE, Chief Bovino is telling us he is done waiting. He is ready to purge this nation of the infidels. And just like Trump, he and his men may be vessels full of sin, but when asked, they are willing to say, “I am here. Send me.”