Thanks for what you’re doing, but we’ve got some serious concerns about some of your other policies, members of the Evangelical Immigration Table wrote to President Joe Biden and members of Congress Jan. 10.
The group of evangelical immigrant advocates — which includes the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission — thanked Biden for his visit to the southern border and his recent attention to immigration policy changes. However, that’s still not enough and some of the Biden administration policies are no better than those of the Trump administration, they wrote.
And as a reminder, they added, this all could be fixed — should have been fixed already — by Congress, which has refused to act on anything related to immigration policy.
In addition to the ERLC, the Evangelical Immigration Table includes Bethany Christian Services, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, National Association of Evangelicals, National Latino Evangelical Coalition, World Relief, and World Vision.
“We appreciate this overdue attention to the challenges facing border communities, which have been facing logistical and humanitarian challenges for many years, but particularly in the past year,” the group said of Biden’s visit. “We are writing to affirm some of the administration’s proposals but also to voice our serious concerns with others, and to underscore our longtime call for bipartisan congressional action to address the crisis at the border.”
Their concern for immigrants is “rooted in the Bible,” the leaders said. “The Scriptures tell us that each person — regardless of nationality or ethnicity — has been made in the image of God with inherent dignity, which is why we insist that our country respect its legal obligations to ensure that those who face a credible fear of persecution not be returned to their countries of origin without due process. The Bible also makes clear that God has established government for clear purposes, which include maintaining order, ensuring security and protecting the vulnerable.”
President Joe Biden greets a volunteer as he tours the El Paso County Migrant Services Support Center in El Paso, Texas, Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
On the positive side:
- “We are encouraged by President Biden’s commitment to increase refugee resettlement from the western hemisphere, which will allow individuals who have demonstrated a credible fear of persecution in their countries of origin to be thoroughly vetted abroad, enter the United States lawfully and then be assisted by faith-based and other non-profit organizations in their process of long-term integration in the United States.”
- “We also affirm the effort to expand U.S. governmental capacity to verify individuals’ eligibility for asylum in a more efficient way and to facilitate the ability to request asylum at ports of entry, without the need to cross a border unlawfully.”
On the negative side:
- “We have concerns that an expanded parole program for nationals of Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela will leave people with only a temporary status — replicating the challenges of many Afghan parolees, for whom we continue to urge Congress to pass legislation to allow applications for permanent legal status after undergoing additional vetting.”
- “Just as we did when the previous administration proposed similar policies, we object to proposed new rules to restrict eligibility for asylum for those who have passed through other countries — including countries without a demonstrated ability to ensure adequate protection from violence or to adjudicate large numbers of asylum requests — en route to the United States. We urge the Biden administration to reverse this proposal and to continue to respect our country’s moral and legal commitments to due process for those who profess a credible fear of persecution, regardless of their country of origin or mode of entry.”
- “We were encouraged by reports last month of bipartisan negotiations to pair significant expansion of border security and asylum adjudication resources with a permanent solution for Dreamers, both of which are longtime priorities for many evangelical Christians, and we were thus disheartened when Congress adjourned without considering these priorities.”
The evangelical leaders urged members of Congress “to set aside partisan differences and forge consensus to address the crisis at our border in ways that both prevent those without authorization from entering and remaining in the United State unlawfully and ensure that those who profess a credible fear of persecution are treated humanely and receive due process as they seek to avail themselves of the protections offered by U.S. law.”
And they pledged their continued help: “Evangelical churches and ministries throughout the United States stand ready and eager to welcome these newcomers and to assist them in the process of rebuilding their lives.”
Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, expanded on the letter: “We appreciate the administration’s efforts to facilitate new opportunities for lawful entry for those who have fled incredible hardship in Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, which are both compassionate policies and will go a long way in reducing the pressures at the border. However, our nation ought not turn our back on our legal and moral commitment to offer asylum to those who can demonstrate a credible fear of persecution, regardless of their mode of entry.
“As Christians who believe that each human life is fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image and thus worthy of protection and preservation, we insist that our government respect due process for those fleeing persecution.”
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