I think I'll post the article to give more people a chance to see it. Good goin', Ted!

Tucson Citizen

My Tucson : Song’s question: Who’s the criminal?
by John M. Fife on Jan 01, 2008, under Opinion

One of the treasures of Tucson is a musician by the name of Ted Warmbrand.

Ted plays the banjo, but lots of folks are better. He sings his songs, but he’ll never make the Grand Ole Opry.

What makes Ted a treasure is his huge heart for justice and his keen eye for hypocrisy.

A couple of years ago, Ted wrote a song entitled, “Who’s the Criminal Now?”

The occasion was the arrest and indictment of two humanitarian aid volunteers who were driving three migrants to get emergency medical care at a clinic in Tucson. It was a record hot week in July that had set an all-time record for deaths of migrants in the desert.

Ted’s song raised the critical question haunting all of us here in the borderlands:

When the U.S. government deliberately develops a border-enforcement strategy that funnels migrant workers and their families into more and more deadly areas of the desert, and the result is the death and suffering of thousands of the poor, “Who’s the criminal now?”

A federal judge said that question would have to wait for another time, but threw out the criminal charges against the “No More Deaths” volunteers a year ago.

Whenever a column or editorial is written about immigration issues, one thing is certain: Lots of letters and comments will result with a common theme.

“What part of illegal don’t you understand?” “They have violated the law and are criminals.” “We must uphold the rule of law.” “Illegal aliens are criminals.”

I guess those lies have been repeated often enough by demagoguing politicians and hate-mongering commentators that people actually believe they’re true.

All propaganda that has led to so much bigotry, hatred, and fear in the past has depended upon lies repeated again and again until they are accepted as fact.

The truth is that more than half of the migrant workers living in the United States without documents entered the country legally. They simply overstayed their visa or other entry permit.

That is a violation of an administrative or civil immigration law, not a violation of a criminal law. It is not a crime and they are not criminals.

As an attorney explained to me, “It is the same as applying for Social Security and being denied because you do not qualify.”

For those who entered through the desert, it is a violation of U.S.C.1325 to enter without inspection. It is a misdemeanor, however, not a felony.

We do not brand folks who have committed misdemeanors and paid their fine as “illegals” and “criminals.”

Don’t forget that all of the proposals for comprehensive immigration reform have included the payment of a hefty fine, the payment of all back taxes, and the requirement to learn English.

That ain’t amnesty folks, that’s called justice and the rule of law.

Rather than misdemeanors and appropriate fines, maybe we ought to consider serious crimes and gross violations of international law and human rights.

On Sept. 17, 2003, the justices of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights ruled unanimously on the border-enforcement strategy of the United States and the resulting deaths in the desert.

Their verdict stated, “The deaths of almost 2,000 Mexican and some Central American migrants is the strongest evidence that the United States has violated and continues to violate human rights. . . . This thesis is strengthened by the fact that a report of the United States General Accounting Office expressly recognized the link between ‘Operation Gatekeeper’ and the deaths of migrants.”

So in the words of Ted’s song, “Who’s the Criminal Now?”

John Fife is a retired Presbyterian pastor who volunteers with Samaritans, No More Deaths, Borderlinks and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

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I think the actual name of the song is "Who's the Criminal Here?" Here's a link to a recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKbLSwX9zOY

It's a perfect song for today's demonstrations against Trump's immigration policies. It brought tears to my eyes.