SALT LAKE CITY — A nonpartisan group for women in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is criticizing the Trump administration’s decision to use tear gas on migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Mormon Women for Ethical Government criticized the decisions to block migrants from claiming asylum and the use of tear gas on migrants seeking to enter into the United States.
“We acknowledge that immigration is a complex issue and that our current system is broken and in serious need of reform. We also acknowledge the need to more effectively secure our southern border and to improve the administration of asylum claims. But using tear gas on innocent children is never a justifiable option. Period,” the group said in a statement.
MWEG called on political leaders to act with “diplomacy, dignity, and compassion” in seeking solutions to immigration.
“As citizens, we can be part of creating the political will to make this happen,” the group said in a statement.
“Jesus Christ was abundantly clear that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves and that no man-made lines should define our reach. Whatever efforts we make to appropriately secure our borders and protect our national interests cannot supersede our moral obligation to care for one another as sisters and brothers, children of the same God.”
The LDS Church itself declined to comment on Tuesday when asked if it had a position on the situation at the border.
