The number of migrants being held in U.S. civil immigration detention centers has stabilized after many weeks of growth and remains well below pre-pandemic and Trump administration levels, according to researchers at Syracuse University. “The most recent numbers show that…
With refugee and immigrant ministries already on high alert, Supreme Court delivers an unwanted message
While the nation’s agencies serving refugees and immigrants are scrambling to welcome thousands of Afghan refugees, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt a blow to their advocacy on another front Aug. 24 by telling the Biden administration it must reinstate the…
What if we spent $9 billion on diplomacy?
It’s hard to know how to leave when you shouldn’t have been there in the first place. The Afghanistan debacle is all the news these days, and for good reason. The humanitarian crisis created by the sudden departure of American…
Elevated refugee admission goal for year won’t be met, but the trend is upward
Just as advocates expected, raising the annual refugee cap for 2021 by the Biden administration is proving a challenge to domestic resettlement agencies and overseas candidate screening centers that atrophied from underuse during the Trump presidency. According to newly released…
Another reminder why Christians must become advocates for vulnerable children
Caring for the well-being of the most vulnerable children among us should be an easy decision for people of faith. The church already knows the importance of its sacred calling to care for children, taking seriously the stark biblical warning…
Pressure mounts on White House to rescind another Trump immigration policy
The pressure is steadily mounting on President Joe Biden to rescind a federal health code provision allowing the U.S. to summarily expel asylum seekers and immigrants to the home countries where they faced persecution. Immigrant rights groups, including Baptist and…
Interfaith coalition asks Biden to stop Arizona land swap to protect Native American religious liberties
A coalition of nearly 60 interfaith groups —including nine Baptist groups — has written to President Joe Biden asking for his intervention in a controversial Arizona land-swap enacted in 2014 but not yet consummated. The deal as currently structured would…
Federal judge’s ruling against DACA ignites faith leaders’ demands for Congress to finally do something
The White House and Congress are getting an earful from faith-based and other human rights organizations alarmed that a federal judge in Texas ruled the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program to be illegal, placing the legal status of hundreds…
Will U.S. departure from Afghanistan create a humanitarian and religious freedom crisis?
The plan to withdraw all American forces from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 has become increasingly problematic for the Biden administration, which is faced not only with gradually and safely returning military personnel to the U.S. but also grappling with the…