We are supposed to be a Christian nation….”Love Thy Neighbor”. Christ told us to care for strangers. (Matthew 25:35 and 3 John 1:5-8)

Instead we are torturing our neighbors. There are over 66,000 in detention centers. The vast majority, 73%, have no criminal record. They are construction and lawn service workers, farm hands, cooks and domestic workers, jobs most Americans don’t want. These persons are also fathers and mothers, sons and daughters. They are being tortured through overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. In the Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, for example, there are two working urinals for 80 people with no privacy. Elsewhere, inhumane conditions are common: beatings, overflowing toilets, lack of showers, poor quality food and water, insect infestation, and extreme cold. Immigrants don’t deserve this brutal treatment. Only 5% have been convicted of a violent crime; the remainder have minor offenses like traffic violations.

We must speak up and free our innocent neighbors. We must close these detention centers where there is senseless cruelty. Where is our Christmas spirit?

SANDRA FOLZER

Mansfield

Submitted by Virtual Newsroom