Ed Young, Second Baptist Church senior pastor and former Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) president, has drawn criticism for calling undocumented migrants crossing the U.S. border from Mexico “undesirables” and “garbage” during a Feb. 25 sermon.
The SBC pastor, whose multi-campus megachurch is located in Houston, preached on the Parable of the Lost Sheep found in Luke 15.
During his sermon, Young began to rant about the current border crisis, calling those who have willingly let undocumented migrants cross the border “fools.”
“Central America, South America, now countries in Asia, China, India, Russia, Iran, Iraq, just pick a number,” Young told his congregation, “they have sent not those who are huddled masses longing to be free. They have emptied their jails and their prisons, they’ve taken their gangs, and they have gone across the border and now we have 8 to 10 million of them scattered across the United States of America.”
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“What happened?” Young asked. “Fools were foolish,” he continued. “And now we really do not have a country unless there is a border. You do not have a country. That is where we are. And we have been led by fools.”
Young suggested the only way to “recover” from this crisis is to return “these people back” to their homelands. But “I can tell you, the homeland will not want to take them back because they have eliminated all the undesirables. All the undesirables,” he said.
The pastor said that he believes other countries are purposefully sending their criminals and those struggling with addictions to the U.S. in order to reduce their debts and crime.
“That’s what countries are doing all around the world today, by millions and millions and millions, and we’re led by fools who are foolish,” Young said.
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“Now what could happen is when a country eliminates all the elements of evil, we might want to move there because we will not be able to stand under all the garbage and wrath in which we’re now inviting to come into our shores,” Young continued. “And they’re already here.”
