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Examining the Presidential candidates in light of biblical teachings
By Sandy Szwarc, BSN, RN, retired emeritus
© Szwarc 2024
“And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth,
having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.” − Acts 17:26“You have established all the boundaries of the earth.” – Psalm 74:17
“Violence will not be heard again in your land, Nor devastation or destruction within your borders;
But you will call your walls salvation, and your gates praise.” − Isaiah 60:18“You shall not move your neighbor’s boundary mark, which the ancestors have set,
in your inheritance which you will inherit in the land
that the Lord your God gives you to possess.” − Deuteronomy 19:14“Meanwhile our women and children will live in fortified cities, for protection from
the inhabitants of the land.” – Numbers 32:17“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household,
he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” – 1 Timothy 5:8The word “boundary” is found at least 15 times in describing the perimeter of Judah. − Joshua 15
Jesus’ teachings are surprisingly firm in his regard for borders and national sovereignty. Americans are blessed to be living in a country whose Founding Fathers believed in a government of the people, and reflected Biblical principles in our U.S. Constitution.
Our Constitution is firm in recognizing that citizens and our elected representatives in Congress have absolute and total power over immigration, and complete authority to decide whether aliens may enter or remain in the country. Our laws are not made by the executive branch or by Executive Orders.
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA), which Congress has amended several times, is the public law that establishes the provisions of immigration law in our country, including governing how executive branch agencies may regulate behavior.
In examining the Presidential candidates in light of these Biblical teachings, it was only possible to know what they truly stood for by going to their actual record.
Ms. Harris’ support of illegals and decriminalization of unlawful border crossings goes back more than a decade.
While San Francisco District Attorney, she initiated and ran a city program for felons that included criminal illegal aliens, to train them for jobs they were not legally able to have. It’s not known how many illegals were part of the program before it was exposed. Harris refused to seek the death penalty for an illegal alien from El Salvador and an MS-13 gang member with previous arrests as a juvenile (city authorities had failed to turn him over for deportation) after an especially gruesome murder of a father and his two sons.
As California Attorney General, Ms. Harris had issued a bulletin to state and local law enforcement agencies of potential liabilities if they voluntarily complied with federal ICE agencies. She instructed the law enforcement professionals that they may only detain an individual if they obey a list of California conviction criteria. She told the press that an illegal immigrant is not a criminal and she would continue to refuse to uphold Federal immigration laws.
While Senator, Ms. Harris stated multiple times in media that she would never support a border wall, calling it a “medieval vanity project.” In 2019, she co-sponsored Federal legislation to end deportation of illegal aliens and support sanctuary cities; while also revoking Trump’s order “Enhancing Public Safety in the Interior of the U.S..”
Senator Harris was also given an F- Grade by NumbersUSA for her opposition to border enforcement and amnesty measures.
During a Senate confirmation hearing, Ms. Harris compared Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the Ku Klux Klan. Ahead of their inauguration, the Biden-Harris Administration announced their plans to open the border, giving the welcome invitation to millions of illegals, caravans and traffickers.
Alien: By federal law, any person who is not a citizen or national of the U.S. is an alien.
Illegal Alien: Any alien in the country without legal status is most commonly called an illegal alien. (Sometimes, they’re also called unauthorized alien or undocumented alien; rarely in immigration laws they are referred to as illegal immigrant, undocumented person, illegal entrant, etc.)
Lawfully Present: A “lawfully present” illegal alien is NOT the same as having legal status. Illegal aliens said to be “lawfully present” include: those the government has now deferred deportation for a period of time, given Temporary Protected Status (TPS), or Parole. They do not have legal status and are still illegal aliens.
Asylum: Those who cross the border illegally, or are already in the U.S., who request asylum are illegal aliens and remain illegal until their cases are adjudicated, which legally can only be done on a case-by-case basis and can take years. Some aliens who come to the U.S. legally on visas to claim asylum can be “legal immigrants.” Fewer than 5% of aliens are true asylum seekers, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
Gotaways: Illegal aliens seen to have entered the country illegally but evaded law enforcement or Border Patrol are called “known gotaways.” In addition, there are untold number of “unknown gotaways.”
Visa Overstays: Those with nonimmigrant visas, given temporary residence status for a specific period of time (for example, tourists, businesses or students), who violate the terms of their visas and stay are illegal aliens. Visa overstays account for as much as 40% of illegal aliens in the U.S., according the DHS.
Criminal Alien: An illegal alien who has been convicted of a felony or two or more misdemeanors and taken into custody is a criminal alien.
Refugee: A refugee has a specific legal meaning. Under Federal law, a refugee is someone outside the U.S.; of special humanitarian concern; who demonstrates persecution or fear of persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group; has not resettled in another country; and is admissible to the U.S.. Once their case is approved, they undergo a medical exam and are eligible to come to the U.S.; are given a green card work permit and may apply for permanent residency after one year. Only 230 actual Haitian “refugees” were admitted to the U.S. last year, explained the Ohio Register.
Harris Took the Lead on the Border
As is well known, on March 24, 2021 Ms. Harris was specifically assigned the lead role in the White House Administration to stem migration on the southern border, work with “nations to accept returnees and enhance migration enforcement at their borders,” and be the point person on immigration issues. In accepting the position, she gave her commitment that she “will enforce the law.” The White House brief didn’t specify what law she would enforce.
When VP Harris took on the assignment to address the root causes of migration from Central America, the public didn’t realize the actual intentions in her border initiatives were to advance the global sustainable development and climate change programs of the United Nations and World Economic Forum… calling for open borders and global governance − the opposite of U.S. national security and sovereignty.
Two months later on May 27, 2021, VP Harris personally issued her call to action: “Fact Sheet: Vice President Harris Launches a Call to Action to the Private Sector to Deepen Investment in the Northern Triangle.” It called upon the world’s largest corporations, international financial institutions, and NGOs to partner with government to support people in the Northern Triangle: Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
Her strategy included economic opportunities to address inequities and systemic social change to bring democracy; promote progressive taxation, empower women and address LLGBTQ+ inequities, sustainable development to address climate change and food insecurity, ensure stronger response to Covid-19 and other pandemics, increase education and health, develop security forces and law enforcement and policing, and embrace green energy and technology. No one questioned how these globalist ideas had anything to do with securing our border and enforcing Congress’ immigration laws.
Among the “public-private” partnerships supported in Ms. Harris’ Call to Action initiative was Tent Partnership for Refugees. Under this scheme, a coalition of over 200 of the largest multi-national corporations agreed to guarantee jobs to massive numbers of migrants from Haiti, Venezuela, Cuba, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Nicaragua, over U.S. born workers. [It went unnoticed that these are not Northern Triangle countries.]
Thirty-three of America’s largest employers signed up on September 21, 2021. The Biden-Harris administration State Department signed an official MOA agreement with the Tent Partnership for Refugees on December 14, 2022.
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- The program originally was sold to the public as helping the Afghans who’d assisted the U.S. government or were employees, and had been left after the U.S. withdrawal and Taliban takeover, had been taken to U.S. military bases or airlifted out to other countries. These refugees were given Special Immigrant Visa’s (or SQ/SI parolee status for Visas still being processed) and legally authorized to live and work in the U.S., as well as given a path for citizenship and other benefits.
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- Today, however, the smallest group in the tent program are actual refugees; most are now “humanitarian claims“ and given temporary 2-year legal status and authorization to work in the U.S.
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- When Tyson joined the Tent Partnership and went to its New York intake system earlier this year looking to hire 52,000 migrants given legal work status under the program, Americans learned of the enormity of the project. A reported 181,400 migrants had come through in just the past two years.
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VP Harris didn’t come up with this initiative alone, nor does it appear she was working for the American people. That very same day, Klaus Schwab spoke alongside VP Harris to the globalist members at the World Economic Forum in Geneva. He promoted Ms. Harris’ call to action for “inclusive and sustainable economic development opportunities” in the Northern Triangle of Central America.
Another WEF globalist member, George Soros, who’s pushed for open borders, has invested $500 million for illegal immigration since 2016 alone. That’s in addition to the $18 billion he moved in 2017 to his pro-democracy foundation. In November 2021, after Ms. Harris’ call to action, Soros specifically funded $1.3 million towards ending U.S. deportations of Haitians, legal services for Haitians, and changing immigration policies at the southern border. Soros’ money went to Haitian Bridge Alliance, UndocuBlack Network, Black Alliance for Just Immigration, and Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project.
By June 8, 2023, VP Harris personally announced new strategies, expanding global private-government partnerships to the eastern Caribbean, specifically Haiti.
She herself agreed to a new U.S.-Caribbean Partnership To Address the “Climate Crisis” (PACC 2030). For Haiti, in addition to $53.7 million to Haiti for humanitarian aid, her lengthy project invested an initial $20 million for green energy and climate change businesses, $15 million for climate disasters, $5 million for climate change national security and millions more in various climate change programs. Ms. Harris also described her role in World Banking actions to address global climate change development, low-carbon investments, and international climate change infrastructure, such as the U.S. supported $100 million International Bank loan to Barbados in 2023. She also committed American taxpayers, for example, to lend up to $21 Billion through the International Monetary Fund for sustainable climate change programs.
Executive mandates
The first 100 days in office, the White House under Ms. Harris’ immigration management took 94 executive actions on immigration, Migration Policy Institute reported, including:
- reduced enforcement of immigration laws and ICE removals; ICE arrests were cut over 60% and detentions by two-thirds in the first month in office.
- terminated travel and visa restrictions;
- ended Trump border policies such as the Public-Charge Rule which evaluated renewals of green cards and temporary visas on whether the illegals would likely to become public charges (dependent on government benefits);
- made 323,000 Venezuelans and 1600 Burmese eligible for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), with work permits and protection from deportation for 18 months;
- restarted the program to bring in Central American children of illegals given paroled or refugee status;
- ended the Remain in Mexico program and let in an estimated 25,000 active cases;
- quadrupled the ceiling for “refugee” admissions to the highest numbers in thirty years; and sped resettlement initiatives;
- halted border wall construction along the southern border;
- increased immigration benefits;
- introduced a groundbreaking legalization package and “pathway to citizenship” of an estimated 11 million illegals;
- directed the Secretary of Homeland Security and U.S. AG to take all legal actions to reinstate and fortify DACA; and more.
On January 20, 2021, in another example of an Executive Order, the White House also revoked the Muslim ban and the African ban for immigrants; and revoked two Trump admission programs with vetting and heightened screening for Visas and other immigration benefits; claiming they were Islamophobic and racist. The call to action went out to Muslim and African illegals with resources and free legal services.
Promptly on February 4, 2021, by Executive Order the Biden-Harris White House ordered the U.S. Refugee Admission Program to expedite applications for “humanitarian” status, engage private and public sponsorship of refugees and partner with resettlement agencies to issue Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) programs for Iraqi and Afghan migrants.
On March 27, 2024, the Soros-funded Haitian Bridge Alliance along with 481 Soros-allied organizations petitioned the White House calling for extending TPS status of Haitians. That June, the Biden-Harris administration announced 18-month extensions and re-designations of TPS for up to 309,000 illegal aliens from Haiti in the U.S. Its new policy was entered into the Federal Register on July 1st and extended TPS for Haitians until February 3, 2026.
Two Harris-Biden Executive Actions in June 2024 gave legal protections to about 500,000 families and about 50,000 noncitizen children of undocumented immigrants who’d entered the country illegally, allowing them residency status without needing to leave the country.
Newly Created and Rewritten Immigration Policies
In trying to make sense of these immigration actions, which have not abided by the Constitution or Jesus’ teachings and have made illegal immigration worse, I learned that these were her own creations and revisions.
Not Congress. Not by the vote of the people.
Parole. Under her, the Administration instituted extensive new parole programs for illegals: Central American Minors Parole Program (implemented in April 2022); CHNV parole program created specifically for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (implemented between October 2022 and January 2023); and a “family unification process” for Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, and Columbians (implemented in July 2023).
“Parole-on-place” was created out of thin air and was an abuse of the parole authority established under federal law (Section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act), explained FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform). Granting parole en masse was done unconstitutionally, without Congressional approval and circumvented Congress. It prioritized illegal aliens over Americans, legal immigrants and the rule of law. The parolees’ paper applications are approved in about a day and bypass usual health checks, criminal histories, in-person interviews with an immigration office, and numerous other paperwork required of those immigrating into the U.S. legally.
By August 1st, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had recorded at least 2.6 million total paroles under this Administration, including the illegal aliens paroled and released into the United States by ICE, Border Patrol, CBP, OFO, and CHNV.
Under the special CHNV parole program she created, Haitian, Cuban, Nicaraguan and Venezuelan illegal aliens are flown directly into the country, “paroled” and released inside the country. None of those admitted through CHNV are legally permitted to enter the country under federal law, according to DHS documents. They are inadmissible, not eligible for visas, and have no legal status,” said FAIR.
By the end of August, the CHNV parole program had flown in nearly 530,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans and granted them “parole.”
This new CHNV program has been letting these single men illegally enter the U.S., according to DHS. The DHS Inspector General also found these illegals were not being vetted as claimed. Members of violent prison gangs and illegals with histories of violent crimes, drug and arms trafficking, kidnapping, and cartel members were being let in.
Media reported to the public that this new parole program was court upheld to allow “a limited number of migrants” up to 30,000 each month – but in actuality 4.5-times more illegal aliens were paroled….and all in violation of federal law.
Even more troubling, FAIR uncovered the parole program had massive fraud. The wide variety of accepted paperwork to show illegal residence is “easily forged and nearly impossible to verify.” In fact, FAIR found over 100,000 fake applications had been filled out by a set of serial sponsors, with the same social security number, who’d each completed twenty or more forms.
TPS. “Temporary Protected Status“ (TPS) was another program significantly rewritten and broadened under Biden-Harris. In 2021, it extended new temporary protected status for about 309,000 Haitians here illegally, and enabled Haitian illegals already here to re-apply under the new designation.
TPS illegal aliens are immediately eligible for green cards, free public schooling, and health care. “Haitian parolees are immediately eligible for all major federal benefits programs on the same terms as legal permanent residents,” said FAIR. They can get: Medicaid, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP food stamps), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and Federal Student Aid.
Pew Research Center estimates that 1,187,230 illegals are in the U.S. under TPS eligibility. As of June 2024, 16 countries were designated for TPS, according to American Immigration Council.
Refugees. On June 20, 2024, the Biden-Harris White house released a Fact sheet celebrating its “rebuilt U.S. Refugee Admissions Program” that let in over 100,000 migrants this year alone, the most in three decades, and its “whole-of-government” efforts to rebuild the resettlement network; triple the number of DHS “refugee officers;” invest in a resettlement network bringing the total number of local resettlement offices to more than 350; and launch a “Welcome Corps.” Thirteen states were the top resettlement states getting over 2,000 illegal aliens each so far in 2024.
Reforms to the 1996 welfare laws have steadily expanded the government benefits available to illegal aliens, as the National Immigration Law Center reviewed.
The impact on local communities when large numbers of migrants granted temporary lawful status are resettled was recently illustrated in the town of Springfield, Ohio. With a population of 59,000 residents, this small town had a reported influx of 15,000 to 20,000 Haitian migrants. It was only after the Presidential debates, that it became “a story” that reached national awareness.
Unknown to the rest of the country, the good people of Springfield have been trying for two years to welcome and accommodate the migrants, with little support from the government. Any small community would be strained to have their population rapidly balloon by 25% to 33% in migrants with poor job skills, many in poor health, and all with a very different culture, said FAIR. Especially a relatively poor town like Springfield, where the median household income was barely half the national average to begin with, said FAIR.
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- At the March 12, 2024 City Commission Meeting, citizens spoke of the security and safety concerns over the past two years, and multiple accounts of “pretty horrid things happening to domesticated animals.. and stuff in the park.” The City Manager acknowledged at the recorded meeting being aware of the complaints.
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- City leaders traveled to Washington, DC in April to meet with the White House Administration and legislators to discuss public safety concerns and problems of overwhelmed schools, transportation, housing, and healthcare systems. A full third of the babies being born at the local hospital were Haitian.
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- On July 8th, the City Manager wrote a letter to their Senators in Washington, D.C., describing the housing crisis brought by the Haitian migrants in Springfield. The City Mayor had also held a press conference on July 12th saying the companies had not told them of their plans to bring in huge numbers of Haitians, leaving the city unprepared with housing, city services or public safety personnel.
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- The City of Springfield published a FAQ on the issues the city is facing.
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- Growing tensions among residents resulted in citizens speaking out at City Commission Meetings on July 30th and again at the August 27, 2024, complaining of rising crime, car crashes (including a school bus crash that killed a young child) by Haitians driving without licenses, squatters trashing homeowners’ property, and leaving elderly residents in fear.
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- Governor DeWine sent in state troopers on September 10th, to help the overwhelmed police department. He also allocated $2.5 million in State money to care for the migrants, putting the blame on the Biden-Harris White House for allowing this initiative without a plan in place.
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- An investigative report also on September 10th by The Federalist, released police recordings and reports of Haitians stealing geese from neighborhood ponds to eat.
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- Senator J.D. Vance reported that their office had received many inquiries from Springfield residents voicing problems surrounding the influx of Haitian migrants, including pets and wildlife being abducted. “My constituents have brought approximately a dozen separate concerns to me, ten of them are verifiable and confirmable,” he told CNN. “…[M]y constituents are telling me firsthand that they’re seeing these things…All I have done is surface the complaints of my constituents, people who are suffering because of Kamala Harris’s policies.”
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- Still, the realities for communities with large influxes of illegal aliens, either paroled or given temporary status under Harris’ programs, didn’t come to national attention until the Presidential debate. In his typical hyperbolic-style, Trump commented on reports of Haitians eating pets and “this is what’s happening in our country and it’s a shame.”
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- The media and Ms. Harris instantly, in lockstep, labeled his claims as baseless and false, an “outlandish internet theory,” and racist. Mainstream media dismissed the issue without investigating or reporting on the concerns of the townspeople or the immigration policies behind the concerns.
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- Subsequently, almost immediately, independent news began reporting first-hand accounts from residents and even the local car mechanic with viewpoints from residents and Haitians; all despairing their small town was “falling apart.” The latest investigative report of the complex issues, by independent journalist Julio Rosas, interviewed a resident who had been with the community group of concerned residents that had grown to 1,900 in a month and a half over the summer. They said they’ve tried to voice their concerns but have been called racists and hateful, and ignored.
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- The residents were given a voice on September 19, 2024, when they were invited to a town hall meeting coordinated by Vivek Ramaswamy, who grew up in the area. Ten-times more residents signed up than the facility could accommodate, but the event was recorded by the local news and posted on YouTube. The impassioned discussion went on for over 1 ½ hours and is the most insightful, productive and positive to date.
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- The few facts that have been made public clearly and understandably paint a picture of a town in distress. FBI reported a dramatic increase in crime since 2020, in a town that already had a violent crime rate 135% over the national average. During the two years between 2021-2023, vehicle thefts increased 51% and shoplifting went up 112%, according to the local news. Clark County reported the Medicaid rolls have skyrocketed nearly 8-fold since the fall of 2022; local rents increased a 14.6% from May 2022 through 2023 and have skyrocketed since then, well over national average; and this year, wages have dropped and unemployment is increasing faster than the national average, as reported by Federal Reserve reporter Howard Schneider with Thomson Reuters.
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- As FAIR wrote: “Understandably, residents of Springfield have grown weary of bearing the social and fiscal burdens of uncontrolled illegal immigration, and political leaders at all levels of government who ignore or demean their pleas for it to stop.“
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Americans trying to learn what’s really going on at the border, as well as in Springfield, have to get past the massive conflicted media with its trusting news collaborations (funded by Democracy Fund, Knight Foundation, Gates Foundation, Soros, and others) that spin disinformation. Soros and these disingenuous news outlets have been intent on confusing the public with misinformation claiming the Haitians migrants are legal, knowing that few consumers understand the Constitution, role of Congress and the Executive branch, or immigration law. They’re a source for the unbalanced stories of how the Haitian aliens are revitalizing the economy and creating a vibrant community in Springfield.
Worse, these disinformation groups have been fueling anti-Trump divisive claims of racism and bomb threats in the Springfield community. Upon investigation, every bomb threat has been a hoax, said Governor DeWine, without “any validity at all.” Rumors that threats are being fueled by President Trump or JD Vance are also untrue, said state and local officials. Many are coming from overseas and made by those wanting to fuel discord, Gov. DeWine told the media. He added:
“It’s been a mess. And frankly, the Biden administration has not done a very good job in regard to the border. So when Donald Trump brings it up, or when JD Vance brings it up, or a candidate for U.S. Senate brings it up, it is a legitimate issue. I have a job though in regard to people who are here legally in Springfield and a community that people are making comments about them. I have an obligation to speak out.”
Why would Soros media be so intent on trying to deflect attention and de-legitimize reports of concerns over the illegal immigration crisis in Springfield? The issue has brought awareness that not just Springfield, but communities across the country are being overwhelmed with illegals being released by Harris’ policies. But it may be bigger than that.
The City of Springfield openly published on its webpage that temporary protected aliens legally qualify for financial assistance, health and nutrition benefits, employment and education services, and housing benefits with most of these benefits administered through the Clark County Department of Job and Family Services. Not only that, but as part of its benefits registration process, the Department is required by state law to provide voter registration forms to every applicant, regardless of illegal status or citizenship. The forms are available in English and Spanish.
While Ohio voters overwhelmingly approved an amendment prohibiting voting by non-citizens in 2022, no effort has been made to stop the practice of handing out voter registration forms to illegals. The Ohio Secretary of State found nearly 600 non-citizens had voted last year or earlier this year and is actively working to ensure legal voting.
It is not known how many of the millions of illegals have been given voter registration cards or how many will vote in this election.
In researching government and independent sources, the truth of our borders and immigration policies emerged. Part 7 continues with “What’s the truth of a border crisis?
Faith on the Ballot Series:
Part 1: Trusting Jesus in Making the Right Choice
Part 2: Beginning the Discernment Journey
Part 3: Religious Freedoms and Rights of Conscience
Part 4: Scripture and LBGTQ+ Rights Policy
Part 5: Living our faith at the voting booth − Life and Abortion in Scripture
Part 6: God’s Word on crime and abuse of office in public servants
Part 7: Border Walls and Sovereignty of Nations in Scripture
Part 7: Continued: What’s the truth of a border crisis?
Part 8: Scripture on Taxes and Government Spending