More than a dozen nonprofit legal organizations have sued the federal government to reinstate a legal services program that provides attorneys and other assistance for thousands of unaccompanied immigrant children. The White House cut $200 million from the Unaccompanied Children…
BWA calls for ‘urgent help’ to replace lifesaving foreign aid
The Baptist World Alliance is calling for “urgent help” in the form of prayer, advocacy and donations in response to cuts in U.S. overseas assistance already driving up hunger and disease around the world. “It is really a call to…
In Kentucky, a Confederate statue sparks protest and spawns podcast
A Kentucky history professor has launched a new podcast exploring how issues of race, religion and community are symbolized by a Confederate memorial in a rural town near Lexington. “Rebel on Main” also presents a historical and sociological inquiry into…
Immigration advocates waiting to see if Trump will comply with court order
Immigration experts are waiting to see if President Donald Trump will comply with a recent federal court ruling protecting some of the nation’s Dreamers, an immigrant rights advocate said during an online panel discussion. “This is not an administration that…
America stands at a moral crossroads, faith leaders warn
The nation is at a political and moral crossroads with the fate of its most vulnerable communities hanging in the balance, according to Vashti McKenzie, president and general secretary of the National Council of Churches. McKenzie participated in a recent…
Measles outbreak inevitable due to lower vaccination rates, experts say
The spread of measles is inevitable in communities where reliance on vaccine alternatives is high and trust in medical science is low, a panel of vaccine and infectious disease experts warned during a March 20 webinar. The media briefing was…
Despite court injunction, immigration agents show up at CBF ministry
A March 18 encounter with federal agents left a North Carolina refugee ministry and its network of supporting congregations rattled but determined as ever “to continue serving the stranger in our community,” said Marc Wyatt, director of Welcome House Raleigh….
Trump administration accuses Habitat for Humanity of fraud
Habitat for Humanity is among nonprofits the Trump administration claims benefited from “programmatic fraud, waste and abuse” through a climate action fund authorized by Congress. Not only has Trump shut down the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, the Environmental Protection Agency…
Trump’s use of Alien Enemies Act challenged by civil liberties groups
President Donald Trump’s attempt to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport certain Venezuelan immigrants was met by an immediate legal challenge, a court order barring the action and a reported violation of the ruling by the administration. The centuries-old…
Post-pandemic, benevolence declines worldwide
Benevolence may be slipping around the world after reaching a high point from 2021 to 2023, according to a new Gallup survey. Last year, 56% of respondents globally said they had helped a stranger in the prior six months, down…
Trump brings back family separation policy, and protests ensue
Donald Trump’s return to detaining immigrant children and families is reviving a brutal process from his first administration and must be heavily protested, human rights advocate Amy Fischer said during a March 12 press briefing. “It causes irreparable harm for…
White House misjudged support for USAID, Sojourners leader says
The White House grossly misjudged in assuming most Americans would be OK with eliminating the U.S. Agency for International Development and most foreign assistance programs, Sojourners President Adam Russell Taylor said. Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency made…