While at one of my doctor visits earlier this year, I was caught off guard by a staff member quite upset over a recent news story. Perhaps you saw it. I had not.

It happened here in Illinois in January. Two female college age students who graduated together from the northern Chicago suburbs were killed in a tragic auto accident in downstate Urbana while visiting friends.

Katherine Abraham and Chloe Polzin were with three other passengers in a Honda Civic and were stopped at a red light in the early morning hours of January 19th. The other three passengers were injured.

The Civic was hit from behind by a Mitsubishi SUV. The driver was speeding and has been charged with two counts of reckless homicide and driving under the influence.

He was not an easy “catch.” After exiting his vehicle, 29-year-old Julio Cucul Bol fled on foot. The US Marshals Service captured this sorry soul in Milford, Texas. He was riding a bus headed for Matamoros, Mexico. In his possession was falsified Mexican paperwork. He later admitted to being a citizen of Guatemala but was using an alias.

Cucul Bol has also been charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident—while the young women victims were back on the scene, either dead or injured.

Could this tragedy have been caused by someone who processed through immigration legally? Perhaps. But I doubt it. You don’t hear stories like this or read about legal immigrants on the run after causing an accident. In part, because to become a citizen in America you take an oath.

It’s called the Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America.

Taking this Oath of Allegiance has been in effect for more than 220 years. All foreign-born men and women, who come to the United States LEGALLY, have taken the oath to become naturalized citizens. We welcome them as they arrive, and as they contribute much to our communities and our nation. They swell with pride when awarded their citizenship.

Here is what these new arrivals commit to:

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”

Julio Cucul Bol had no interest in taking such an oath.

He is one of the many “undocumented persons” who are now facing a challenging reality with a new administration in Washington, DC. The “roundups” of those who are deemed to have criminal intent is happening at breakneck speed.

Moreover, our borders are looking a lot different to those who thought the US was their ticket to a picnic of benefits. Security is a lot tighter. We do, however, offer free return flights to places like Venezuela, where the government was coaxed into cooperation.

But for the families of Katherine Abraham and Chloe Polzin, these measures of border protection came too late. They are but two of many families who have suffered from our years of an unguarded “open door policy” that was grossly ineffective at keeping safeguards in place.

We mustn’t allow our personal preferences of compassion and mercy to dictate policy on proper border security. It is an insult to those who come here legally. And who raise a hand with an oath to share in our protection.

So…what would Jesus do? Perhaps He would remind us of the borders of the Promised Land. A place where strangers and aliens could reside.

But offering a welcome mat for rapists? Murderers? Thieves? And those who leave the scene of the dying at an accident? Only a God without compassion would do that.

While at one of my doctor visits earlier this year, I was caught off guard by a staff member quite upset over a recent news story. Perhaps you saw it. I had not.

It happened here in Illinois in January. Two female college age students who graduated together from the northern Chicago suburbs were killed in a tragic auto accident in downstate Urbana while visiting friends.

Katherine Abraham and Chloe Polzin were with three other passengers in a Honda Civic and were stopped at a red light in the early morning hours of January 19th. The other three passengers were injured.

The Civic was hit from behind by a Mitsubishi SUV. The driver was speeding and has been charged with two counts of reckless homicide and driving under the influence.

He was not an easy “catch.” After exiting his vehicle, 29-year-old Julio Cucul Bol fled on foot. The US Marshals Service captured this sorry soul in Milford, Texas. He was riding a bus headed for Matamoros, Mexico. In his possession was falsified Mexican paperwork. He later admitted to being a citizen of Guatemala but was using an alias.

Cucul Bol has also been charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident—while the young women victims were back on the scene, either dead or injured.

Could this tragedy have been caused by someone who processed through immigration legally? Perhaps. But I doubt it. You don’t hear stories like this or read about legal immigrants on the run after causing an accident. In part, because to become a citizen in America you take an oath.

It’s called the Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America.

Taking this Oath of Allegiance has been in effect for more than 220 years. All foreign-born men and women, who come to the United States LEGALLY, have taken the oath to become naturalized citizens. We welcome them as they arrive, and as they contribute much to our communities and our nation. They swell with pride when awarded their citizenship.

Here is what these new arrivals commit to:

“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”

Julio Cucul Bol had no interest in taking such an oath.

He is one of the many “undocumented persons” who are now facing a challenging reality with a new administration in Washington, DC. The “roundups” of those who are deemed to have criminal intent is happening at breakneck speed.

Moreover, our borders are looking a lot different to those who thought the US was their ticket to a picnic of benefits. Security is a lot tighter. We do, however, offer free return flights to places like Venezuela, where the government was coaxed into cooperation.

But for the families of Katherine Abraham and Chloe Polzin, these measures of border protection came too late. They are but two of many families who have suffered from our years of an unguarded “open door policy” that was grossly ineffective at keeping safeguards in place.

We mustn’t allow our personal preferences of compassion and mercy to dictate policy on proper border security. It is an insult to those who come here legally. And who raise a hand with an oath to share in our protection.

So…what would Jesus do? Perhaps He would remind us of the borders of the Promised Land. A place where strangers and aliens could reside.

But offering a welcome mat for rapists? Murderers? Thieves? And those who leave the scene of the dying at an accident? Only a God without compassion would do that.