No room at the inn, 2019

Last year on Christmas Eve, we recalled an inspiring Republican orator who reminded America that she had been founded as a refuge for the oppressed and was a blessed beacon of hope — a “shining city upon a hill” welcoming people from across the world to seek freedom and opportunity.

We decried the reality that that optimistic light had dimmed, replaced by the darker vision of a quite different Republican who vulgarly demeans whole populations and sneers at the idea of America as an inviting light.

One year later, alas this current Republican leader is working harder to create Fortress America and turn away the most in need of American opportunity.

In September, the administration slashed the number of refugees America will accept in 2020 to 18,000, the lowest in memory. In addition, an executive order overturned decades of policy to allow states to refuse any refugees.

Meanwhile, our government is fighting a bill that would make it easier for Kurdish refugees to immigrate to the U.S. (the Kurds are fleeing their homes because the U.S. abandoned its ISIS-fighting allies to Turkey).

Finally, immigration-hating White House aide Stephen Miller is reportedly trying to plant ICE agents in the Health and Human Services refugee office tasked with aiding unaccompanied migrant children — the better to potentially target parents and children for deportation.

Ironically, the current president falsely boasts (like too many of his boasts) that he has made it safe for Americans to say, “Merry Christmas” again. Yet, he seems to have forgotten one of the main lessons of this season — welcoming the stranger, the needy and the vulnerable into one’s home.