05.47
Oxe Blog
A group of illegal Christian immigrants from Indonesia are expecting deportation back home where possible religious persecution awaits them
A group of some 100-odd Christian Indonesian refugees who fled their country due to religious persecution 10 years ago and have been living in New Jersey and New Hampshire – among other places – illegally, have appealed to President Barack Obama for help in an open letter earlier this week, as they are facing imminent deportation and reportedly renewed persecution.
"I write because your Administration's policy toward the Indonesian immigrant community has become so hostile as to suggest that, at best, it is arbitrary and capricious, and, at worst, punitive," said the group's spiritual leader, the Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale of the Reformed Church of Highland Park, N.J., who was the official signatory of the letter.
The minister emphasized the situation of Christians in Indonesia – the most populous Muslim country – where Christians have been known to have suffered religious persecution in the form of church bombings, personal assaults and various acts of mob violence.
The minister also reminded in the letter that an ICE memorandum "purported to adopt 'common sense guidelines' toward deportation issues while focusing on those persons who 'pose a clear risk to national security' or have criminal records."
"Despite this purported policy, your Administration has deported recently, and is in the process of deporting, non-criminal, non-threatening, Indonesian Christians to Indonesia," he added, addressing the president.
The group of Indonesians had entered the U.S. on tourist visas, most of them in the late 90s, when escaping a contemporary krackdown on Christians in their home country. They have overstayed their visas and many have established families, living quietly in the shadow of law, while attending their local churches, including the Reformed Church of Highland Park.
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