With regards to the sudden influx of children from Central America suddenly rushing our border and the questions over what the proper response should be, here is an interesting similar incident that happened a while back in Germany:
In the 1990’s there were a number of what I believe were either Somalian or Sudanese refugees (I cannot find the Internet links to the story) who had fled to Germany requesting asylum there.
There were questions as to the legitimacy of their status and as to whether they were really there to work or to get on the liberal social benefits programs that the nation offered.
They claimed that they had been persecuted in their homeland and if deported back would face torture and probable death. Germany, a country at that time as divided between liberals and conservatives as we are in the U.S. now, saw a huge battle over the immigrants develop between those who wanted them out and those who wanted to offer them sanctuary. The fight became major headline news across Europe.
The refugees, all men, put on a big emotional display, showing huge fear at the prospect of being sent back. A church took them in and members kept vigil over them protecting them from police intrusion and extremists who wanted them ousted.
Finally a court determined they were not legal and ordered them flown back to their home country. Police broke in and carted them off to a holding pen at the airport. Newspaper photos showed the men protesting this bitterly, wailing and begging not to be sent back. The last photos were of them being herded onto a plane heading to the dark fate they claimed awaited them when they arrived. Huge protests against this echoed throughout Germany and the rest of Europe.
Now for the epilogue of the story:
About a year later a major German weekly magazine, I believe it was Stern, sent a reporter and photographer to their homeland to track down these men and learn of their fates.
Interestingly, they found all men alive well. One young man was working for his uncle who had a business, all others were either with family or working somewhere. All were healthy, untortured and undead.
It had all been a big scam. The men had never been in danger. They had all just wanted to work in Germany where the wages were much higher than in their own country and they could get social benefits that would make them better off than they had been back home.
To get this they were willing to tell any lie no matter how big and put on a big act to get what they wanted, one for which they should have won an Oscar.
By passing on this story I am not saying that all asylum seekers are phony; many have come from desperate situations where their lives truly are in danger. But I do wish to show the lengths that some people will go to to get some money and benefits for themselves at another peoples expense. Rather than take of the problems that exist in their homeland themselves, they will put their burdens upon another, more naive nation.
We would beware ourselves. There are often wolves coming to our doors pretending to be lambs.