It’s hard to believe 14 months into Donald Trump’s Reign of Terror 2.0 anyone still believes the administration’s rhetoric around its immigration enforcement practices. I’m a female pastor in a progressive Baptist church in Texas. It isn’t as if I’m…
Epiphany’s forgotten revelation: Africa as refuge for Christ
Epiphany is the season of revelation. It is the moment when light breaks into darkness, when God preserves what power tries to destroy. We rehearse the story every year: Magi from the East follow a star that leads them to…
Jesus the asylum-seeker: A visit to the Church of Abu Sirga
A year ago, I traveled to Egypt with 12 other pilgrims from Wake Forest University School of Divinity to learn about the country’s rich religious history. Our mostly Christian group spent much of our time learning about religions other than…
‘There really is no escape’: Faith leaders help immigrants face court as ICE arrests rise
San Diego Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido noticed the way a father held his young daughter and stood close to his wife and teenage daughter in the courtroom. The love and care they had for each other was palpable on Tuesday…
Churches called to be bold and flexible in immigration ministries
Donald Trump’s aggressive crackdown on immigration is pushing faith-based groups to be more bold, flexible and creative in their ministries to immigrants, a panel of experts said during a webinar hosted by the American Baptist Home Mission Societies. The session…
CBF joins Quakers in lawsuit against ICE raids in churches
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has joined a coalition of Quakers as a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed last week demanding the Trump administration not allow ICE agents to conduct raids in houses of worship. The new policy of the Trump…
‘My church may not be entered by federal agents, but it is not only my church that concerns me’
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement Jan. 21 that attempts to build the framework for federal immigration enforcement agencies to have the right to enter schools and churches to make arrests. This statement overturns previous ICE precedent…
America needs a new sanctuary movement today
As President Donald Trump categorically bans people from seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border and cancels flights for incoming refugees, it’s worth recalling this isn’t the first time the federal government has failed the world’s most vulnerable — nor would it be the first time…
A plea for courage
Thank you, Bishop Mariann Budde. Where are the rest of them, the folks who proclaim the Christian faith and yet never would dare stand before the president to ask for mercy for our sisters and brothers who deserve mercy? Where…
Here’s a rundown of Trump’s ‘day one’ immigration actions
Donald Trump issued a slew of immigration-related executive orders on “day one” ranging from closing the southern border and ending birthright citizenship to closing asylum and refugee admissions. Trump has claimed immigration was the issue that got him elected and…
Immigration advocates slam Biden White House again
The Biden administration has once again made asylum more challenging to obtain just as migrant encounters at the U.S.-Mexico border are dropping to recent lows. Advocates are protesting the move they say will exacerbate the already high numbers of migrant…
Yo-Yoing of U.S. immigration policy is bad for the world, experts warn
Gridlock on effective immigration reforms will continue until politicians set aside partisan differences to focus on the systemic drivers of global migration, said David Cronin, a senior policy and legislative specialist with Catholic Relief Services. Domestic advocacy groups, migrants, refugees,…