The White House this week approved 18 months of additional Temporary Protected Status for Haitian nationals already in the U.S. and opened the door for newer arrivals to apply for the legal protection assuming they entered the country before Nov…
Critics of Brittney Griner are bad patriots making bad arguments
The New Testament story of Barabbas is the best metaphor I have found for what is unfolding in America after the release of Brittney Griner from a Russian prison. The conservative branch of our fractured country has erupted like coyotes…
Even if U.S. government fails immigrants, faith groups say they’ll keep working
Faith groups will continue to show welcome and compassion to immigrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border whether or not Congress and the White House implement common sense, humane immigration policies, said Dylan Corbett, executive director of Hope Border…
Quakers join the applause for Biden’s federal pardon of simple marijuana possession
The Quakers joined other proponents of criminal justice reform to welcome President Joe Biden’s recent announcement that he will grant pardons to thousands of Americans convicted on federal charges of simple marijuana possession. While many conservative Christian denominations typically support…
What’s wrong with the ‘you’re being divisive’ argument
Pastors, of all people, should recognize this deflection for what it is. It’s a dirty trick they suffer from all the time. The pastor gets up the courage to speak actual truth about some situation — most likely a sermon…
On social media, the Bible verses are flying in a debate over student loan forgiveness
Within hours of its announcement, the new White House plan to forgive $10,000 to $20,000 per person in student loan debt became a theological dividing line as much as a political one. Critics of the debt forgiveness initiative turned to…
At long last, Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy appears to be dead
The White House is pulling the plug on the Migrant Protection Protocols after a federal judge on Aug. 8 lifted an injunction requiring the continued use of the Trump administration anti-asylum policy. The action by Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk in…
Immigration advocates praise rumored end to Title 42 but say the end should come today
It has been a busy week for U.S. immigration policy, with a flurry of announcements ranging from new federal efforts to streamline asylum cases and to launching more expansive and humane programs in response to anticipated surges in migrant encounters…
To reduce abortion humanely and justly, people of faith should back the ERA
Fifty years ago, Congress passed a constitutional reform to ensure “equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged … on account of sex.” On March 22, 1972, a bipartisan supermajority sent the Equal Rights Amendment to…
Biden administration can barely catch a break on rebuilding and implementing immigration plans as global urgency grows
Faith leaders and immigration advocates have been holding President Joe Biden’s feet to the fire in their quest to move America toward a more compassionate and comprehensive approach to immigration. But this week, the Biden administration did something immigration advocates…
Veterans join religious and human rights groups to call for permanent status for Afghan refugees
Religious, human rights and veterans’ groups are stepping up pressure on Congress to provide a pathway to legal, permanent status for tens of thousands of Afghan refugees evacuated to the U.S. last year. Most of those who escaped the fall…
Biden administration once again assailed over perpetuation of Trump’s Title 42 expulsions
Immigration advocates and human rights groups were appalled to learn Feb. 4 that the White House has decided to continue with Title 42, the Trump-era immigration policy that uses the COVID-19 pandemic as a rationale for immediately deporting asylum seekers…