OPINION
administration. The first deportation flight to Brazil of this administration made news for the harrowing way in which it was carried out. The flight carrying 88 Brazilian nationals, originated on January 24 and was originally scheduled to arrive at Confins Airport in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Contracted to GlobalX, the flight experienced an aborted takeoff in Virginia due to turbine issues. Once departed, the flight diverted for technical reasons to Panama, where, again, the flight experienced an aborted takeoff and the added insult of a non-functioning air conditioner in the tropical heat. After departing Panama, the flight was again diverted for disruption of the air conditioning system, this time to Manaus, in the Brazilian Amazon. Amid crying children, screaming parents and intense tropical heat, the deportees, many handcuffed and shackled, reportedly began physically pushing against ICE agents to escape the plane. As the temperatures rose, the deportees reportedly pulled the emergency exit doors and escaped onto the wing of the plane, screaming for help. Brazil’ s Federal Police eventually boarded the flight and demanded ICE to release the Brazilian nationals.
Again, many emotions: surprise and shock were not among them.
Reading of repeat abuse of fellow human beings, this time by placement in an erratically air-conditioned tube that seemingly might fall from the sky, I listened for those who should be speaking up the loudest, the evangelical voices so familiar to me from my childhood. To fill the void of silence that I encountered, I sang to myself repeatedly that which was sung to me in my childhood more times than I can count:
“ Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.”
As a child, I did not realize the tacit( t) ruth that I do so clearly now as an adult. Apparently, an evangelical version of Jesus loves little children, but immigrants come with any number of asterisks and, preferably, a border wall.
Certainly, there are infinite and disparate opinions on politics and policy. The medical community would predictably have conspicuous opinions on the withdrawal from the WHO, the closure of USAID and a confirmation of a Health and Human Services Secretary unhinged from scientific knowledge, unqualified to serve, and with a penchant for leaving dead animals in public places. Yet the nuts and bolts of immigration policy, or political views on any myriad of topics, are discussions for another time.
The( t) ruth of today’ s evangelicals, expressed in a manifest of political destiny, absolves Christians of walking along with their neighbors, whether they live in agreement or not. Their( t) ruth serves as a means only to an earthly and political end. However, sanctioning the abuse of the basic dignity and worth of fellow humans, whether walking cheek by jowl or not, just isn’ t really up for debate.
In the assault on( T) ruth, where so many Americans have moved away from their faith communities, there is a call to action: reengage your faith and spirituality, regardless of your religion. In short, come back to a church. There are, indeed, faith communities of all stripes that have not forgotten the words of the songs sung to their children. In the improbable reality of a majority of voting evangelical Christians supporting a felonious, philandering man with a limited vocabulary, a track record of abuse and a penchant for a( t) ruth with the smallest of t’ s, could there be anything more ironic and satisfying than a resurgence of faith communities that( T) ruly espouse a( T) ruth for all? I can attest, turning away from inherited faith communities residing in glass houses of worship and toward those still clinging to( T) ruth won’ t occur without bruises from the stones of( t) ruth. However, turning back and peering through thin, translucent walls will reveal those who are not at all who they said they were, but are exactly as they appear to be.
References:
1 https:// www. vox. com / future-perfect / 398460 / jd-vance-ordo-amoris-order-love-christianity-catholic-charity
2 https:// www. npr. org / 2025 / 01 / 28 / nx-s1-5276293 / trump-executive-orders 3 https:// www. splcenter. org / resources / stories / family-separation-timeline / 4 https:// www. nbcnews. com / politics / 2024-elections / exit-polls
Dr. Kolter is an internist practicing in Louisville.
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OPINION April 2025 33