You First, Secretary Noem

Let’s see you run the gauntlet you want to put immigrants through

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem never ceases to inspire awe, and not in a good way. She plays uniform dress up to visit a notorious prison in El Salvador where the prisoners have no hope of getting out, even if they commit no or very low level crimes. While there, she has glamour shots taken for Gun Worshiper Digest or some other firearms idolatry outlet. She is featured in commercials showing immigrants in this country who allegedly committed crimes, only a handful of the thousands who call our country home, implying that all immigrants are felons.

And we all know that she is the proud assassin of a puppy who committed the grievous offense of merely being too happy and energetic. She daydreamed of becoming president after Biden so she could shoot his dog, too. It’s good to have a life goal, I guess.

Kristi Noem is the Torquemada, enforcer of the Spanish Inquisition, of the anti-immigrant/anti-puppy/anti-dog movement. To be fair she hasn’t burned anyone at the stake. At least, not yet.

This week comes news that Homeland Security may be in talks to collaborate on a game show that features immigrants who are US citizenship hopefuls publicly humiliating themselves for the grand prize of becoming citizens. The mandate to invite in and treat immigrants as the native born is well established in the Christian Bible. It is true that plenty of US citizens are humiliated in reality TV shows.

I wondered after all these offenses, whether Noem claims a connection to Christianity, which is a given in most GOP circles, usually in name only (Chrinos). According to Wikipedia, Noem most certainly claims to be Christian by having an affiliation with the Four Square Gospel movement through membership in a church in South Dakota. (I find it interesting that most organizations with ‘gospel’ in their name that I’ve encountered, such as the Full Gospel Businessmen’s Association, tend to be the least centered in the New Testament gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.)

The “Foursquare Church” was the church founded by Aimee Semple McPherson, a “celebrity” in the 1920s who is famous for disappearing for a month in 1926. Four Square is loosely connected to the Pentecostal movement and considered to be part of the Evangelical Church and, according to its founder, is nondenominational.

“Four square” comes from a vision that the prophet Ezekiel experienced in four different aspects: a man, a lion, an ox and an eagle. In true Christian style, this passage in Jewish text represents four aspects of Jesus, “Savior, Baptizer with the Holy Spirit, Healer and Soon and Coming King.” And in typical Christian style, no mention of Jesus having anything to say. In the Great Commission of Matthew 28 (verse 20), Jesus says to “make disciples” which means you baptize them and “teach them to obey everything [Jesus] commanded,” like inviting in immigrants, feeding the hungry, caring for the sick, and not serving wealth. It’s amazing how often that line is erased on web sites and, honestly, is completely ignored in most modern churches, even my mainline church growing up. More on this and Pentecostals on a future post.

So I guess I can’t blame the secretary of Homeland Security for not realizing that her actions are an affront to biblical, and more specifically Jesus’s, teachings. Ignorance of the law, though, is no excuse. I can blame her for the immoral cruelty her bearing false witness against and oppressing immigrants brings about. Seems she knows the Bible as well as she knows about Habeas Corpus and the Constitution.

Watch Kristi's Habeas Corpus Testimony