On Palm Sunday, the U.S. president issued a proclamation for Holy Week citing Christ’s sacrifice and “abiding love for all his creation.” In it he pledges to uphold religious liberty and offered a prayer that the country “will remain a beacon of faith, hope, and freedom for the entire world.”
In this holiest of seasons for Christians, we are deeply troubled by the brazen lack of due process and the ongoing violation of human rights in the United States, exhibited daily as hundreds of our brothers and sisters are rounded up and detained, and illegally removed without a hearing.
Rather than serving as a “beacon to the world” in defending freedom, the U.S. administration is instead following the lead of El Salvador’s autocratic leader who has shown blatant disregard for human rights, and imprisoning hundreds of men in a notoriously cruel prison in El Salvador.
Many of them were in the process of legalizing their status and were detained simply because of tattoos or clothing without any evidence of wrongdoing.
Among the many outrages, the most egregious is the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was arrested in March and has been imprisoned in El Salvador. He was deported despite a clear 2019 order from an immigration judge prohibiting the authorities from returning him to his home country of El Salvador because of the dangers he faced from local gangs – the reason he fled the country.
The Trump administration admitted the deportation was an “administrative error” but has since ignored court rulings calling on the government to ensure his return.
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously Abrego Garcia was “improperly” removed and the Trump administration must “facilitate” his return to the United States. But the White House is ignoring the courts and now claims the Salvadorean father and Maryland resident is a gang member, without providing any proof.
It is time to stand up and speak out. Bishop Evelio Menjivar, an auxiliary bishop in Washington, DC and native of El Salvador, eloquently issued a call for Americans to take a stand, citing the example set by Saint Óscar Romero who was martyred for speaking out against injustice.
“More than a few natural-born Americans are saying they do not recognize their country anymore, but many of us from other lands recognize all too well the terror of people being snatched by secret police and disappeared. We left our former countries precisely to get away from it,” he wrote. “Yet, too many people are remaining silent, perhaps out of fear, forgetting that the Holy Spirit gives us the grace of fortitude to boldly speak out for good.”
“When I was growing up in El Salvador, there was a man who was not afraid to speak out. His name was Óscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador. It seems to me that we need more Óscar Romeros today. We need everyone of good will to follow his lead and demand that the government respect human dignity.”
As we commemorate the persecution, passion, and crucifixion of Christ, where do we stand? Even Christ had a hearing before Pontius Pilate.