Pro-Life—Until It’s an Immigrant Life

Some stories sit so heavy in your gut that they haunt you long after the headlines fade. This is one of them. When I read that former Trump administration officials—who proudly wore the “pro-life” label—believe undocumented immigrants should be denied emergency room care, I felt sick. And angry. And deeply disappointed in how far we’ve fallen when it comes to human decency.

For me, “life” isn’t a political slogan—it’s a value, a conviction, a responsibility we owe one another just by virtue of being human. As a veteran, I swore to protect life and liberty, but I never imagined such a cold betrayal of our moral compass would be celebrated under the false banner of “pro-life.”

The Hypocrisy of Selective Compassion

Let me be real with you—this isn’t about immigration paperwork. This is about basic humanity. If you can look at a child with a 105-degree fever, or a woman experiencing internal bleeding, and decide they should be turned away from a hospital because of their “status,” then you’ve lost the plot. That’s not pro-life—that’s pro-control, pro-politics, and pro-punishment.

Former Trump officials, including those like Stephen Miller who architected some of the cruelest immigration policies in modern U.S. history, have openly floated the idea that emergency medical care should be denied to undocumented individuals. Can you imagine? In one breath, they call themselves defenders of innocent life—and in the next, they scapegoat the desperate, the sick, and the voiceless. What kind of moral pretzel is that?

“Love the unborn, hate the living”

I’m reminded of something a friend once said: “Some folks love the unborn but seem to hate the born.” That’s the bitter truth. We’ve got policymakers who’ll fight tooth and nail to force a woman to give birth, but the moment that baby grows up poor, undocumented, or differently-abled, they wash their hands and walk away.

Isn’t it wild how we talk about the sanctity of life, but turn cold when that life shows up brown-skinned, speaking Spanish, or fleeing danger from places we helped destabilize? This isn’t just policy—it’s prejudice in a tailored suit.

Veteran Perspective: Life Has No Borders

Serving in the military showed me that people are people, no matter where they come from. I’ve broken bread with translators in the Middle East who risked their lives for American troops, only to be denied visas when the war ended. I’ve seen medics rush to save locals just like they would save a fellow soldier, no questions asked. The battlefield doesn’t have a passport checkpoint—and neither should an emergency room.

If we truly call ourselves compassionate, if we’re truly “pro-life,” then every life has to matter—regardless of whether they were born in Tucson or Tijuana.

The Emergency Room Door Should Never Close

Emergency medical treatment isn’t a luxury. It’s not a Netflix subscription you can cancel if you don’t like how the person looks. It’s a basic act of decency that says: I see your pain, and I won’t let you die just because you’re not on the right paperwork.

Let’s not forget—we’ve got entire communities in this country who are undocumented but contribute billions in taxes, raise families, work in essential jobs, and sit beside us at church and in school. They get sick like we do. Their kids get hurt like ours. And if our best answer to that is “go die somewhere else,” we’ve lost our soul as a country.

We Must Choose Humanity Over Politics

The truth is, cruelty has become a political currency. It wins votes, whips up fear, and rallies folks who feel threatened by change. But it doesn’t build a just society—it builds walls, both literal and emotional. And that hurts all of us.

We’ve got to stop using “pro-life” as a talking point and start living it with action. That means making healthcare accessible, treating people with compassion, and refusing to let American values get hijacked by fearmongers.

As a man of faith, as a veteran, and as someone trying to do right by my neighbors—I can’t stay silent while suffering is ignored just because it’s politically inconvenient.

My Hope for Us

We’re better than this. We have to be. The soul of this country has always been rooted in giving refuge to the persecuted, lifting up the weary, and providing care regardless of creed, color, or citizenship.

So, the next time someone says they’re “pro-life,” ask them what that really means. Ask them if it includes a mother crossing the border, a boy injured on a job he wasn’t supposed to be working, or a man silently carrying