“I have to make sure I’m never in uniform in public.” I sat down over pizza with two border patrol agents and chatted about their experience as Christian agents. Living near the border, we have a number of Border Patrol Agents who attend at our church. I wanted to hear from them what their experience was and hear how their experience could shape the church’s thoughts concerning illegal immigration.
Over the course of three meetings, I met with four agents and listened as they shared their perspective on serving as Border Patrol Agents. All of them share an unbending commitment to uphold the law of the land and protect our borders and to care for the people they engage. And all of them have felt the strain of the whiplash of different administrations’ agendas and the emotional weight of having such negative public attention aimed at them.
The agents had different opinions on legal immigration, but all believe that it is the right of a sovereign nation to control their borders and that they had no conflict as Christians with the core responsibility of their job: protecting the borders from people illegally entering. One agent said, “Our country has just laws. A sovereign country has the right to enforce those laws.” One said, “Our job is to enforce the law. I may have compassion for their situation, but we have rules and laws to protect people and so we have to enforce those laws. We do have legal pathways to immigrate. I have no idea who the people I apprehend are until I arrest them. I don’t know what their story is. If I don’t arrest them, I am in the wrong. My job is simple: it’s to protect the order and to send them through the process.”
Each of them cared deeply for those they apprehended, though. “Human life has value,” one agent said. “Those we apprehend aren’t just another number.” All of the agents spoke of their empathy for those who cross the border. “I would probably try to do the same thing to improve my family’s life, if I were in their shoes,” one agent said. Another agent shared stories of getting those in custody fast food when they missed a meal because of a hospital visit. One agent said he was grateful for people who placed water in desert for those crossing the border. “I don’t want to see anyone get hurt or die.” Every agent spoke of how those crossing the border are victims of the cartel, who often lies, leaves people behind, and scams them out of money. One said, “The people who cross are being abused by the cartel. They are at risk of rape, being beaten, and getting robbed. I’ve found many people who were abandoned by the cartel.”
Every agent spoke of the high level of training Border Patrol Agents receive to save lives. All Border Patrol Agents are trained in medical response. In addition, they have a specialty unit called Borstar with agents that serve as specialty EMT agents. The Border Patrol puts rescue beacons in the desert to try to help those who are hurt or dehydrated. “We are very invested in saving lives,” one agent said. Another said, “We will spare no cost to rescue people.”
One of the ways that the agents felt the most frustration was that they often feel accused of being racist. While they patrol our southern border, those crossing come from over a hundred countries. They also struggled with the shifts from one administration to the next. One said that, “Under a previous administration, it felt like we were facilitating an invasion. It was the opposite of what our job had been.”
All of the agents felt a responsibility for their fellow agents, recognizing that one of the ways they can live out their Christian witness is as a support to their peers. One agent said, “When I look at our force, I see a bunch of guys who really need Jesus. They’ve gone through a bunch of stuff in their lives. They are struggling with their marriages and their kids. They are imperfected people who need love and understanding. Their intentions are by in large good. Their desire to protect other people and try to make this country safer for those who live here is really good.” One of the agents I interviewed is a chaplain and another is currently training to be a chaplain. One shared, “Many agents are dealing with difficult situations. I’ve dealt with guys who have come upon kids who were abandoned and other kids who were run over by cars. One agent responded to a situation where a kid got murdered by a neighbor.”
All of the agents were appreciative for the support of the church. One commented on how valuable our PTSD support group for first responders was to him and others. Another was grateful for the impact of the faithful preaching of God’s Word in his life. Another spoke of the importance of the community as a support system. Another said that he values it when people at church as about his job and ask for his perspective on political issues surrounding the border. “It’s nice when people want to talk about it. Sometimes people just talk at you and don’t even ask your opinion. That stings.”
My conversations with these brothers in Christ left me with a profound respect for the burden they carry and the dignity and heart they carry out their call with. I pray that as Christians we make sure that we hold together the biblical notions of honoring those in authority (1 Pet. 2:17) and loving our neighbor (Matt. 22:34-40). I was blessed to hear how these agents are navigating that tension faithfully. One put it this way, “We want to treat people with dignity, respect, and compassion. But it doesn’t mean that we don’t respect the lawful processes. You can have both. The Bible calls us to follow the law. We can respect the law and have compassion. God himself respects the law. If God didn’t respect the law, we wouldn’t need Jesus. Jesus didn’t come to abolish the law, but to fulfill it. There are consequences to breaking the law. God holds people accountable. We have compassion, but there are consequences.”
Praise God for those who are faithfully serving as Border Patrol Agents. May God continue to make his people those who are able to fold to partisan winds that tempt us to compromise our biblical convictions for political wins and soundbites.
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Photo by Nils Huenerfuerst on Unsplash