WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Judiciary Committee and a graduate of Yale Divinity School, responded to the Trump administration’s separation of families at the Southern border. A video of his response is available here

“The specific thing I wanted to raise with you today was that Attorney General Sessions and then, later, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, spokesperson for the Trump Administration, cited Scripture, cited Paul’s epistle to the Romans, in particular, Romans Chapter 13, for the principle that we must all be subject to governing authority and follow the law.

“That brief passage in Romans 13, which does indeed say that we should be subject to the authorities and follow the law, ironically, was also cited by Tories who opposed the American Revolution, by slaveholders who opposed abolition in the run up to the Civil War in the United States, and by those who were the defenders of the Apartheid regime in South Africa. It is a cramped and narrow reading of Romans 13 that misses the context - verses just before and just after in Romans 12 and Romans 13 that call on people of faith to be humble, to associate themselves with folks in need, to show hospitality, kindness, and love.  And near the end of Romans 13, it says that it is love that is the fulfillment of the law, and that ‘Love thy neighbor’ is the greatest commandment of the law. 

“Let me simply say that as one Senator, one person trying to represent you here in Washington, I am concerned – I’m upset – that a decision has been made to use children as a weapon in a long running war about how best to secure our border - how best to fix our broken immigration system - and it’s my hope that the Trump Administration will choose to end this policy and instead work with us in Congress on a bipartisan basis to find a legislative solution to our badly broken immigration system.

“It seems to me that listening to each other, in humility, and with a kind and open heart, would truly be in the spirit of the Gospel.”

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