Thoughts on the immigration crisis

One day, a family is eating dinner, and Johnny the neighbor child knocks on the door. 

"I'm hungry," Johnny says.  So the family shares a meal with Johnny.

The next night, Johnny comes for dinner again.  Johnny comes over hungry every day.  Pretty soon, the caring family asks, "What's going on at Johnny's house?  We're happy to feed Johnny- but is there a problem at Johnny's house?"

A week later, Johnny comes back with his five brothers and sisters.  "We're hungry."

What's the compassionate family to do? 

Feed the hungry kids?  Of course. 

Find out what's going on at Johnny's house?  That's the deeper issue.  How can we help Johnny's family feed their kids?

Of course, the family could adopt Johnny and all his brothers and sisters.  This will meet the immediate need- but the deeper issues remain.  What about Susie's family across the street?  Johnny's cousin Jimmy across town?  At some point, no matter how many hungry kids the family adopts, questions will arise.

• Where are we going to put all of these hungry neighbor kids?
• How many hungry neighbor kids can we afford to feed?

Maybe their own kids want a new Playstation.  Dad wants a new motorcycle.  Mom wants a vacation.  Of course, these are all frivolous concerns compared to feeding the hungry neighbor kids.  But what about the kids' college fund?  Do they cash out the IRA's? 

Suppose one of the hungry neighbor kids is a troublemaker?  How does the family respond if their own children are getting bullied by the hungry kids?  That doesn't mean that ALL neighbor kids are bad… but isn't it reasonable to take precautions to protect their own family?

Suppose we send money to Johnny's family to help them feed Johnny.  Instead of feeding the kids, Johnny's daddy buys a big-screen TV and the kids are still hungry? 

Can this family feed the hungry neighbor kids effectively if Mommy and Daddy are more concerned about fighting each other? 

Solutions

• Let's try to feed the hungry kids
• Let's establish some reasonable guidelines about letting hungry kids into the house
• Let's try to figure out what's happening at Johnny's house
• Let's make sure that Johnny's family uses our resources responsibly
• Let's make every effort to get Mommy and Daddy on the same page
• Are there other wealthy families in the neighborhood who can contribute to feeding the hungry kids? 
• What is the role of WHO, UNICEF, United Nations, and other support organizations?