Recently, President Donald Trump and others have used “chain migration” to refer to immigrants’ ability to unite their families. Such changes in language have the effect of objectifying people and reducing empathy for them, and are usually used in conjunction with the promotion of policies that harm them.
It is easier to vote to break a threatening chain than to break up a family, but the moral consequences are the same.
When debating immigration policy, good people on both sides, especially journalists and, most importantly, religious leaders, should reject such language and continue to emphasize the humanity of those being affected.
As former President George W. Bush said often on the issue: “We are talking about people.”
Joe Makley, West Paris
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