Mexico’s Underground Railroad

Written by President ELLA

In the News: Mexican migrants are being “smuggled” across the border using “stash houses” where many live in crowded, poor conditions hoping for a better life. Many face danger while making this journey and are often robbed, raped, beaten and extorted. The local Texas government calls the situation a “stain” on the city and has offered rewards for those who come forward to report smugglers and their stash houses. 

In my opinion: If this doesn’t remind you of the Underground Railroad, your heart is broken. These people are fleeing from pain and poverty and ending up in terrible situations because… we won’t let them across the border? I know there is much more to immigration legislation than being compassionate, but if these American stash houses are the conditions in which people are willing to live, in order to cross the border, we have to take a serious look at what is going on. We need to find a better way to help our fellow man find safety. We need to let go of all these borders, fences labels and definitions that separate us onto teams we never chose. 

The worst part of this, for me, is that the folks fleeing are being abused and taken advantage of for profit. It’s always about money. They are being taken for every penny they have, and sometimes being threatened or kidnapped or… any and everything else evil people can think of. But this isn’t the first time in history people have had to move hidden, through the dark, trying to find a place where they might be safe and free. If only people had kind hearts… I think of the Quakers and how helping our fellow man is the only way we can overcome the rule of evil. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr often spoke of the necessity of allies. I wish we could all just be friends…