“Our world is facing a refugee crisis of a magnitude not seen since the Second World War.”
So declared Pope Francis during his Thursday address to Congress in the segment of his speech that dealt with Europe’s refugee crisis.
Francis connected the crisis with America’s own problem of illegal immigration in saying, “On this continent, too, thousands of persons are led to travel north in search of a better life for themselves and for their loved ones, in search of greater opportunities. Is this not what we want for our own children?” (RELATED: Pope Francis Urges US Not To Turn Its Back On Refugees)
He went on to cite the Golden Rule as a guide for how the West should handle the problem.
“We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best we can to their situation,” the pope stated. “We need to avoid a common temptation nowadays: to discard whatever proves troublesome. Let us remember the Golden Rule: ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ (Mt 7:12). This Rule points us in a clear direction. Let us treat others with the same passion and compassion with which we want to be treated.”
In Francis’s short tenure as pope, immigration has emerged as one of his core issues. During the pope’s time in the U.S., he mentioned the subject in his first address alongside President Obama remarking that America was built by immigrants.
In a private session with American bishops, he praised the U.S. Catholic Church as the institution that’s done the most to help immigrants and urge them to overcome the challenge of migrant “diversity.” Additionally, the pope said he was “certain” that the new arrivals in the U.S. would “enrich America and its church.”
Outside of his visit to the States, Francis has been a vocal advocate for migrants illegally crossing into Europe and has even called upon the states of the European Union to welcome them with open arms.
“Facing the tragedy of tens of thousands of refugees — fleeing death by war and famine, and journeying towards the hope of life — the Gospel calls, asking of us to be close to the smallest and forsaken. To give them a concrete hope,” the pope has said of the crisis. “And not just to tell them: ‘Have courage, be patient!’”
While Pope Francis’s immigration message may correspond well with church teachings and interests, that doesn’t mean it meshes well with the interests of the nations that are called upon to welcome all the migrants. In fact, the pope’s message disregards the burdens unrestricted immigration brings to America and Western Europe, and how many of these immigrants make no pretense of following the Golden Rule.
Ever since becoming pope in 2013, Francis has been an outspoken advocate for illegal immigrants in both Europe and the United States. He started visiting the migrant camps that now dot the coastlines of France and Italy, demanding European Union states take in these migrants almost immediately upon his coronation. These camps house thousands of African migrants, the majority of whom came to Europe not to flee war or oppression, but to find employment or simply enjoy the benefits of the welfare state. (RELATED: Bleeding Hearts Will Only Make Europe’s Migrant Crisis Worse)
The same is also probably true with many of the so-called refugees who flooded Europe this summer from the Middle East — another group Francis believes deserves the unquestioning support of Europe. Of course, a sizable number are fleeing war-torn Syria, bringing their families to the continent in hopes they’ll be granted asylum. But the overwhelming number of “refugees” are young men leaving the safety of Turkey, Jordan and other states in the hopes they’ll enjoy the wonders of Europe.
While many of these immigrants came to Europe for employment, the struggling economies of the continent offers few opportunities for low-skilled migrants, and the new arrivals imperil existing social infrastructures. The lion’s share of camp dwellers, if allowed to stay, would go straight on government assistance — like most asylum seekers already living in the West. Out of the refugees residing in America, 91 percent of them are on some form of government assistance. (RELATED: GOP Rep Wants To Block Obama’s Refugee Plan: ‘It’s An Open Invitation’ To America’s Enemies)
And that’s no no meager cost for taxpayers to bear.
Germany is set to take in 800,000 migrants this year. The average cost for taking in each individual migrant is estimated to be $14,500. That’s an $11.6 billion dollar bill foisted onto German taxpayers.
Along with the large costs to taxpayers and lack of economic feasibility in accepting these migrants, they also bring crime and terror elements. Some of the high profile cases involving these migrants include an elderly couple brutally murdered in Sicily, a woman beheaded in a Swedish IKEA store and a seven-year-old girl raped in Germany.
With the crime comes the prospect of terrorists lurking among the migrant masses. ISIS has called on its militants to infiltrate the exodus and security experts say that it is very likely that some of the migrants who’ve made it to Europe are connected to jihadi groups. (RELATED: America Already Has A Refugee Problem On Its Hands)
Many of these migrants will also filter into unassimilated communities where radical Islam has found a home. If the Church hopes that the new arrivals will fill up the pews, they’ll be sorely mistaken when many migrants embrace a religious current viciously opposed to all forms of Christianity.
With all these issues, it’s odd for the head of a state that doesn’t take in migrants to demand other states to do so.
Appealing to the Golden Rule makes for nice rhetoric, but it doesn’t it hold up when one side has no interest in upholding it.
Whatever reason these migrants come to the United States and Europe, there’s a serious cost for welcoming them regardless of the consequences.
