The World and Everything in It: January 11, 2023

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Good morning!

President Biden announces new immigration policies but will it solve the border crisis?

NICK EICHER, HOST: That’s ahead on Washington Wednesday.

Also today, WORLD Tour.

Plus helping newcomers learn the ropes.

And a famous hymn about grace turns 250 years old.

REICHARD: It’s Wednesday, January 11th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Mary Reichard.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

REICHARD: Now the news with Kent Covington.

KENT COVINGTON, NEWS ANCHOR: Mexico City Summit » President Biden huddled with top leaders from Mexico and Canada on Tuesday in Mexico City. He said they tackled some of the biggest challenges facing the United States…

BIDEN: How we can try to help stabilize Haiti, how we can deal with migration and at the same time bolster our national security.

The White House says that’s part of a plan to address root causes of irregular migration.

Canadian Prime Minister said the leaders are working together to build the North American economy.

TRUDEAU: North America is the largest free trading bloc in the world, larger even than the European Union. We have a tremendous amount to contribute to the world.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador hosted the talks.

Biden classified docs » It’s President Biden’s turn to face questions over how potentially classified White House documents came to be in his private possession.

The Justice Department is looking into the records, which Biden’s attorneys found when they were cleaning out a D.C. office he used between his stints as vice president and president.

House Majority leader Steve Scalise.

SCALISE: Then-Vice President Biden took classified documents with him and held them for years and criticized former President Trump during that same time that he had those classified documents

Both parties lobbed accusations of hypocrisy over the document discovery. Democratic Congressman Pete Aguilar:

AGUILAR: Republicans aren’t interested in having meaningful oversight. They’re just interested in opposing this president.

Attorneys found the documents in Biden’s office in November; it’s unclear why the Justice Department waited to disclose the finding.

CA weather » More rain is expected to hit northern California today after storms have pounded the state for days.

Derrick Herndon is a weather researcher at the University of Wisconsin. He says these storms are coming from what are called atmospheric rivers striking the upper coast of California.

HERNDON: Typically, these weather systems just pass through and they get some rain and they move on. But the problem is that we have a very stagnant pattern in the Pacific Ocean area that is causing these systems to repeatedly hit the coast one after the other and focus this heavy rainfall right in that area.

California has reported at least 17 weather-related deaths in past weeks. More than a hundred thousand are without power or have been evacuated. Millions more are under flood warnings.

Ukrainian troops training in US / New levels of death and destruction in Bakmut, Ukraine » U.S. officials say 100 Ukrainian troops will come to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for missile defense training as early as next week.

The soldiers will learn more about Patriot missile systems, which can target rockets and aircraft. It takes months to train a battery of about 100 soldiers.

Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder:

RYDER: Our focus is going to continue to be on supporting Ukraine and providing them with the security assistance they need to defend their country

Those Patriot missile systems will accompany other weapons systems that western countries have pledged to Ukraine.

RYDER: As we’ve seen over the last number of months in particular, Russia has really intensified its aerial bombardment of Ukraine, really across the country.

In Eastern Ukraine, officials say there is almost no life left in the city of Bakhmut. Russian forces have come close to taking Soledar, a nearby town. That would bring them one step closer to cutting Ukrainian supply lines. The U.K. defense ministry believes Russia controls almost all of Soledar, which is home to mining tunnels that are 120 miles long.

NATO chief confident that Finland/Sweden will be NATO members » Meanwhile, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he is confident Sweden and Finland will join the group. And he says already…

STOLTENBERG: As invitees, Finland and Sweden are now participating in NATOs meetings, ministerial meetings, ambassadorial meetings, meetings of different NATO committees.

Both countries applied for NATO membership after Russia invaded Ukraine.

All 30 of NATO’s current members must agree to let them in.

The Turkish government may not vote to ratify membership for the Nordic nations … until they deliver on concessions they made to win Turkey’s approval.

Brazil » Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is blaming former President Jair Bolsonaro for inciting a riot when his supporters broke into government buildings on Sunday. But WORLD’s Emma Friere says of Bolsonaro:

FRIERE: He has three sons who are adults who all hold elected office. And his three sons are what motivates a lot of what he does. He would never do anything that would jeopardize their electoral futures. So an event like this is really a nightmare for him. Because then suddenly the Bolsonaro brand really becomes toxic and it becomes a hindrance to his son’s futures.

WORLD’s Emma Friere reporting.

I’m Kent Covington. Straight ahead: President Biden’s first visit to the U.S. southern border.

Plus, World Tour.

This is The World and Everything in It.

NICK EICHER, HOST: It’s the 11th of January, 2023. Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. It’s time for Washington Wednesday.

After two years in office, President Biden made his first visit to the southern border on Sunday. He stopped briefly in El Paso, Texas on his way to Mexico City for meetings with other North American leaders about several issues, including immigration.

Last week, Biden announced changes to U.S. border policy.

EICHER: The new policy will allow legal entry by 30,000 people monthly from each of these four countries: Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela. But to receive legal entry, migrants must apply from their home country, and Biden said anyone who crosses the border illegally will be disqualified and sent back across the border.

The United States has record-high traffic at the border and has for a long time now, raising the question: Will the new policy make much difference?

Here to help us answer that question and others is Mark Morgan. He served as acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection under President Trump. Before that, he was acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under President Obama.

REICHARD: Mark, good morning!

MARK MORGAN, GUEST: Good morning, Mary. Thanks for having me.

REICHARD: Well, let’s start with Biden’s rule changes for migrants from those four countries I just mentioned. First of all, why just those four countries?

MORGAN: Yeah, Mary, that's the question.  Look, in the last two years under President Biden, we've seen illegal aliens from 160 different countries, and the plan that he's talking about only impacts those four countries that you talked about. And let's keep in mind, while he's saying he's going to remove illegal aliens from those four countries, at the same time, as you said, he's going to "parole in" up to 30,000 aliens from those four countries every single month. And this is very important about parole because for those who pay attention to this and know the law, we think this is, one, an unlawful use of parole, and two, it's to really circumvent the illegality that's happening. They're really just shifting. They're playing a shell game here, because instead of them illegally entering our southern border, what they're going to do is they're just going to parole them in and send them directly into the United States. They're really erasing the illegal part of illegal immigration. It's just a shell game. So the proof is in the pudding. Everything that he said seemed more like a processing strategy than a border security strategy.

REICHARD: What do you think the president accomplished with his recent visit to the US-Mexico border?

MORGAN: Yeah, look, all indications, Mary, so far, no. Look, I was glad that he went to El Paso.  It's currently the epicenter of the crisis at our southern border. Last December, just a couple of weeks ago, in a 30 day period, El Paso experienced 55,000 apprehensions and over 32,000 got-aways. That's over 2,000 illegal aliens every single day. So he went to the right place. The problem is that's where it stopped. He clearly received a sanitized version. How do I say that? Because the time that he was down there, he didn't see a single illegal alien at the border. He stood in front of a wall. But yet, if he would have just went a little bit to the right or left where he stopped building the wall, he would have seen illegal aliens entering the border. He went to one of the NGO shelters, one of among many in El Paso, that on an average day, they see between 500 to 1,000 illegal aliens on a daily basis. Yet, when he went there wasn't a single illegal alien there. And the city streets of El Paso, I talked to people that still live there, I was just there a couple of weeks ago, the streets of El Paso were littered with homeless illegal aliens, because literally they're overwhelmed. When he went there, the streets were clean.  And the other issue that we don't know is did he actually present a forum where the Border Patrol agents, for example, could have an open and honest conversation? Because if the president had what he would have heard, Mary, a few things, one, he would have said, Mr. President, the borders are not secure. They are wide open. The cartels have operational control. He would have heard that walls work. That's just a few things he would have heard. I don't think he heard it.

REICHARD: I have seen some reports that President Biden has been talking to the Mexican president in Mexico City about accepting more migrants that may be expelled from the United States. What would that mean? Is that some kind of good news in terms of addressing the crisis?

MORGAN: It is, if it actually happens. As illegal immigration continues, what happens especially when we've seen almost 6 million in the past 24 months—I mean, that's just unconscionable—is that it pulls border patrol resources off the front line, off and away from their national security mission. That's what leaves our border wide open. That's what enables the cartels to exploit that and gain operational control. And that's exactly how drugs are coming across, criminal aliens, and potential national security threats. Our border security is diminished because of illegal immigration. So if you can apply consequences to those that are illegally entering, if you're telling them that we're not going to release you in the United States never to be heard from again, that's a consequence. You will see the flow of illegal aliens go down. The problem with this is, the law says that you should detain certain individuals while they're going through the immigration proceedings. And this administration isn't doing that. They're not enforcing the law. And they dismantled every effective tool, authority, policy we had that really allowed us to have the most secure border in our lifetime. So I'm skeptical. But yes, anytime that they apply consequence, ie removing those that are illegally entering, it's going to have a positive effect. It's going to get more agents back on the line and it's going to help us secure our borders. But keep in mind, he's talking about removing up to 30,000 but he's also talking about paroling in 30,000 each month as well of those four countries. So it's contradictory. And it doesn't make sense.

REICHARD: Let’s talk ground level here. How are border agents coping with all this? They’ve had to deal with unprecedented numbers of people, and very little support from our government.

MORGAN: Yeah. Mary, look, I really appreciate you asking that question. Because look, the Border Patrol right now, their morale is the lowest it's ever been since its inception in 1924. I talked to agents on a regular basis. Look, the fact that they're still getting up every single day, putting the badge on their chest, and going to the frontlines of this border, risking their lives, that's just the definition of heroes. Because as you said, look, every tool, authority has been taken away. Their own agency from their chief to their secretary, the President of the United States has vilified them, has scapegoated them, and they have not given them what they needed. Our borders are not secure.

REICHARD: If you were advising the White House on how to fix the border crisis humanely but effectively at the same time, what would you say?

MORGAN: Yeah, so, the most humane and safe and effective thing that we can do Mary for the migrants themselves is to stop illegal immigration, stop incentivizing and encouraging them to give their money and their potential lives in the hands of the cartels to take the dangerous journey. The cartels treat these migrants like trash, like a commodity. We know that there are untold amount of young women and children that are raped on the journey, that these migrants are oftentimes thrust into the life of trafficking and associated atrocities with it. Under this administration, in the first two years, there have been close to 1,700 dead migrants that have found at our border all because this president and this administration has told the entire world if you come to the border and you set one foot on American soil, we're going to release you never to be heard from again. That's what they want, and they're risking their lives. The most safe, orderly, and humane thing we can do for the migrants themselves is to stop illegal immigration and have discussions on how we can effectively improve legal immigration going forward. And as far as the policies, look, I'm not meaning to be flip, but all they have to do is reinstitute the Remain in Mexico program, reinstitute the Safe Third Countries agreements we had with all three Northern Triangle countries, end catch and release, remove the restrictions on ICE that prevent them from doing their job to remove and deport illegal aliens and start building the wall again.

REICHARD: Ok, I know we’re past time but I’ve got to ask this question. I mean, one of the enumerated duties of the federal government is to protect our borders. You’ve already mentioned the harms to illegals coming into the United States. What about danger to all Americans who are already here, legally?

MORGAN: Yeah, Mary, that's the question. Look, the truth and reality that a lot of Americans just don't understand is the threats coming across and they are vast and complex. Again, drugs coming across, killing Americans every single day. There are criminals. 1.2 million got-aways in the last 24 months. And the Constitution is clear under Article Four Section Four, the president of the United States, the federal government has the responsibility to do just what you said, to protect all states from threats outside its borders. And if they fail to do that, which this administration has, the states have a self-help remedy under Article One section 10 to protect themselves. And that's just what Governor Abbott has done by declaring invasion and putting troops and personnel on the southwest border.

REICHARD: Mark Morgan is a visiting fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation. Mark, thanks so much!

MORGAN: You bet, Mary.

Editor’s note: WORLD has updated the audio and transcript of this segment to note that the United States will allow 30,000 people to legally enter the country from Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela each month.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Coming up next on The World and Everything in It: WORLD Tour with our reporter in Africa, Onize Ohikere.

ONIZE OHIKERE, REPORTER: Ivory Coast — Today’s roundup starts in Ivory Coast, where 46 soldiers have returned home.

AUDIO: [Celebration chants]

Authorities lined up at the airport in Abidjan to welcome the soldiers who spent six months detained in Mali.

Mali’s military junta arrested the soldiers back in June when they went to work for a private aviation company contracted by the United Nations.

They were sentenced to 20 years in prison for undermining state security and conspiracy, but the junta issued a pardon and released the soldiers last week.

The pardon also extends to three female soldiers who received death sentences in absentia because they did not appear in court for their hearing.

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara.

OUATTARA: [Speaking in French]

He says here the mission was not easy and the soldiers had no reason to reproach themselves.

Mali has faced two coups since 2020.

Pakistan flood recovery — Next to Pakistan.

The United Nations is drumming up support to help Pakistan recover from last year’s devastating floods.

AUDIO: [Displaced Pakistanis]

The rainy season deluge that submerged a third of the country killed more than 1,700 people and ruined millions of acres of agricultural land.

Thousands of Pakistanis are still living in open areas in makeshift homes and tents near stagnant water.

During a conference this week, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for more funds and debt financing to help Pakistan.

GUTERRES: So my heart broke when I saw firsthand the utter devastation of last summer's floods. No country deserves to endure what's happened to Pakistan.

Dozens of countries and global aid groups have pledged more than $9 billion dollars to help rebuild.

Iran protests — We go next to protests in Iran.

AUDIO: [Chanting protesters]

Hardline demonstrators set fire to the French flag and chanted “Death to France” outside the French embassy in Tehran on Sunday.

The French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo sparked the protests by publishing cartoons that mocked Iran’s ruling clerics.

Back in 2015, two French-born extremists killed 12 people at the Charlie Hebdo office over its cartoons of the prophet Mohammed.

AUDIO: [Protester speaking Farsi]

This protester accused France of trying to stain Islam.

Iran has accused the West of supporting protests that began in September after a 22-year-old detained for violating strict dress codes died in police custody.

Orthodox Christmas — We wrap up today with Orthodox Christmas celebrations around the world.

AUDIO: [Procession]

In the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, hundreds of Georgians dressed in church garments and marched alongside bulls and donkeys in a traditional procession to collect donations for orphans.

AUDIO: [Worship]

In Gaza, dozens of Christian Palestinians gathered for Mass inside the Church of Saint Porphyrius, one of the oldest Churches in the region. Gaza’s Christian population has fallen to about 1,000 people.

AUDIO: [Worshippers singing]

And in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, worshippers lit candles and prayed together on the Orthodox Christmas Eve.

Many in Bucha are still trying to rebuild after regaining control of the town from Russian forces.

The Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on January 7 following the Julian calendar. Similar traditions and worship drew believers in other countries like Egypt, Ethiopia, and Armenia.

That’s it for this week’s World Tour. Reporting for WORLD, I’m Onize Ohikere in Abuja, Nigeria.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Six years after the pop band The Police sent an SOS to the world, 10-year-old Troy Heller sent his own message in a bottle and a reply took almost four decades.

“Whoever finds this note,” he wrote in 1985. “Call me.”

The boy placed the message in a Pepsi bottle—along with his phone number—and tossed it into the Atlantic off the coast of Florida.

Fast forward to the aftermath of Hurricane Nicole, volunteers cleaning up came across the bottle just 14 miles north of its original drop.

They gave it to a passing couple and their kids, who found the message inside, still legible. With a little online sleuthing, they found the grown-up Troy Heller and tried calling his new number—a cellphone—and then followed up with a text.

Heller told WLKY-TV that when he read the follow-up text, he remembered.

HELLER:  I thought I'd just throw it out in the ocean and just see where it went, you know? It's just amazing that it finally found its way back.

The couple and their kids sent the letter back to Heller who has framed it alongside a photo of him throwing the Pepsi bottle into the ocean 37 years ago.

AUDIO: The choice of the new generation.

It’s The World and Everything in It.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: Today is Wednesday, January 11th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day.

Good morning. I’m Mary Reichard.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: adapting to a new home.

Ellis Island used to be America’s busiest site for processing immigrants. Since 1926, the Statue of Liberty has welcomed people from around the world. And today, more than a quarter of New York City residents are immigrants.

But it’s never been easy. Acclimating to a new country, learning the culture, and especially the English language is challenging for anyone.

LAUREN DUNN, REPORTER: Luis Iza’s family left Cuba in 1961. He was nine years old when they moved to New York City. At first, Iza’s parents didn’t have the money for a New York City apartment. All four family members lived in one rented room.

IZA: We came from a little town in Cuba, 30,000 people. So all of a sudden we land in a city of 8 million. And just imagine my eyes, my being starry-eyed. Possibly in a New York City block had the population of my town and that idea of feeling tiny feeling small in the midst of all was something that helped me a lot in, in, in ultimately giving my life to Christ.

Immigrants who arrive in the States as children often adapt quicker than adults. Iza learned English in about a year. For his parents, the language didn’t come so easily. That created some awkward situations.

IZA: For a 10, 11-year-old, 12-year-old, that’s very confusing going with your mom to the doctor and being the translator of a lot of things you’re not supposed to be aware of…

Iza’s mom made sure he did his homework, but she couldn’t help him with it since it was in English. When his parents attended parent-teacher conferences, Iza usually had to attend, too—to help with communication.

IZA: And I would find it funny at times, me being the translator for my own teachers. And I didn't do it, but I felt tempted of saying, Mom, the teacher’s saying that I'm a wonderful student, wonderful person.

Iza graduated from NYU and started a jewelry business similar to his dad’s. He married Maggie, who had also immigrated from Cuba. They moved out of the neighborhood where Iza grew up, but continued to attend church there.

Their pastor asked the couple to start a children’s program for kids in the neighborhood. That’s when the Izas realized that many children still faced the problems they did growing up. In 1987, the Izas started a ministry. The goal was to help Latino children from low-income families attend Christian schools.

Today, their ministry is called Operation Exodus. It still helps Latino students through after school programs, but the Izas quickly saw a need to expand their focus to include immigrant parents.

IZA: Kids quickly, very quickly become English-dominant in the States. And very few wind up keeping their mother tongue, be it Spanish or whatever. If the parents don't catch up, there's a communication gap that develops between the first gen and second gen.

In 2010, the Izas opened the first location of The Open Door. The organization offers free English classes for immigrants from any country, though most students come from Spanish-speaking countries. Today the group operates three locations in New York and New Jersey and an online option. Some locations offer children’s classes for kids whose parents attend adult classes. Their newest location opened in September, and has already outgrown its space.

Most people come to Open Door to learn English, but the organization also offers classes in computer literacy and GED prep.

Last year, a student shared her experience for a ministry video. Rita speaks Portuguese and some Spanish. It was her second year of attending English classes.

YouTube: I come in here, I no speak nothing English, only ‘Hello, Bye.’ I don’t know more, OK? It’s difficult for me, taking the bus or go for the shopping, or simple…appointment for the doctor. Now, listen to me, I speak more English.

Iza says that volunteers tell him they get a lot from the classes, too.

IZA: It's common to hear the volunteers say, I no longer look at my delivery guy as just a piece of the puzzle. Now I realize somebody like him is my friend at open door. He's a human being…with needs. It's very common to hear the students say, I have never in my life, had an Anglo friend or never in my life, had an Asian friend. And now I do.

The ministry also includes devotionals in the classes. Iza says that leaders make sure to define any theological words that may be unfamiliar to their students.

IZA: During the devotionals, we try our best to talk about how their stories in the Bible are from the beginning of time is the story of a people on the move. From the beginning of time, it's a story of people having to adapt to new surroundings, be it Abraham to Jesus, where right after birth, they had to escape to Egypt. So in that process, is when we introduce Christ to them.

Iza understands the challenges many of these new immigrants face. But he realizes what’s even more important: God understands, too.

IZA: Our prayer is they would realize that the ultimate immigrant is Christ, right? But he did things different from what my parents did. He left his riches in heaven and became poor.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Lauren Dunn.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, January 11th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. One of the most popular Christian hymns of all time turns 250 years old this month. Here’s WORLD commentator Janie B. Cheaney.

JANIE B. CHEANEY, COMMENTATOR: On New Year’s Day, 1773, John Newton preached a sermon at his parish church in Buckinghamshire, England. His text was I Chronicles 17, in which the LORD rejects King David’s offer to build him a house, and instead promises to build an enduring house for the King. David’s response begins, “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far?”

John Newton included an original poem in his sermon, spinning off the idea of undeserved favor from the Lord. The poem began, “Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me . . .”

That was 250 years ago this month. A few years later, Newton included the poem in a book of original hymns. “Amazing Grace” was written in “common meter,” which makes it singable in many tunes (the Gilligan’s Island theme is my favorite). But the tune commonly associated with it was adapted by American composer William Walker in 1835. Since then, pop artists and bagpipes have made it the world’s most recognizable Christian hymn. It’s a fair assumption that many who perform the song don’t understand it. But how well do we understand the mystery of grace?

The story of John Newton’s dramatic conversion from salty seaman and slave trader to devoted pastor is familiar to most of us. But you may be surprised to learn that after confessing Christ as Lord, he rose in seafaring ranks to become captain of his own slave ship, until a minor stroke forced his retirement. It was only later that the Lord convicted Newton of the evils of the slave trade, largely through association with abolitionists.

I was blind, but now I see. “Seeing” is not a one-and-done phenomenon. After being saved by grace, blind spots remain, even about grace itself. Several years ago, members of my family joined a group that splintered off an established Reformed church to take Calvinism to a whole new level—in fact, they eventually disavowed Calvin. They preached that salvation meant acknowledging and understanding Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace and the whole tulip, stem and all. One of them told me that he would stand or fall by his understanding.

Thank God, grace pursued my family members and brought them back to orthodoxy. Grace works when we don’t see it working. Grace flows into the cracks of our rigid assumptions and breaks them up. Grace grabs us by the back of the neck and makes us confront our spiritual pride. Grace covers every moment. That’s the amazing thing about it.

‘Tis grace that brought me safe thus far, and grace will lead me home. ‘Tis grace that brings us safely to our final breath. Thanks, John Newton—and thank you, Jesus.

I’m Janie B. Cheaney.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Tomorrow: mail order abortion pills, an update on Brazilian unrest, and a visit to a Lego championship.

That and more tomorrow.

I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

Genesis 1:21-25 records the fifth day of creation: “God created the great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”

Go now in grace and peace.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.