A Letter To Senator Rubio

Senator Rubio,

As a registered Republican, a citizen of the state of Florida, and an evangelical Christian, I have watched with a mix of anger and horror as our President has subverted the core values this party has stood for and abused high office what appears to be his own selfish gain. Over the past several weeks that mix of emotions has been replaced by heartbreak as his administration has enacted, and then defended, a set of policies that have directly resulted in the separation of children from their parents. As both a seminary graduate and an ordained church elder, it brings additional pain to see that that the Bible, the same Scripture this party has used to defend “family values,” has been perverted to defend practices that are the antithesis of that phrase.

I take the time to write you because I believe you to be a man of character, and one who has been willing to take a stand on issues—even unpopular issues—that you think are important. I can think of no more important cause than protecting “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40), and so I write now to call on you to support any act of Congress that outlaws the routine separation of children from their parents at the border, or anywhere. These people may not be American citizens, and they may even be crossing the border illegally. That is no excuse for the inhumanity with which they have been met.

I draw your attention in particular to the HELP Separated Children Act and the Keep Families Together Act. It’s my estimation that either one of these bills is worthy of your support. I ask you to consider them carefully and ask yourself if they might be worth defending even if it means breaking ranks with our party. To be clear, not only would I accept such a decision on your part, but I would support it. Your early support would show the kind of leadership our party sorely needs: moral leadership.

Members of our party routinely speak as if America is in crisis. If that is true, I believe we are the ones largely to blame. Senator, you are in a far better position than I to do something about that, and I call on you to start here. Protect the dignity and value of every human life. Protect the value of family wholeness. You can put a stop to this inhumanity. Please do.