At least once a week, relief workers from Jesuit Refugee Service Mexico see a grim routine: Newly arrived deportees step off planes in Tuxtla Gutiérrez, near Mexico’s southern border, still wearing gray detention uniforms issued in the United States. Transported…
As Springfield’s 15,000 Haitians brace for deportations, local churches train to resist ICE
“We have orders of deportation,” said a volunteer in a raised voice, posing as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent and pounding on the sanctuary door. “What you’re doing is harboring.”
Fast-track deportations blocked by court
The Trump administration has been temporarily blocked from expanding fast-track deportations in its bid to hurriedly remove undocumented immigrants from the U.S. U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb issued the stay in Make the Stay New York v. Kristi Noem after…
Why is Trump deporting persecuted Christians to certain death?
A stark contradiction exists within the Trump administration’s rhetoric and its actions, creating a tragic irony for some of the world’s most vulnerable Christians. While publicly positioning itself as a staunch defender of persecuted Christians (especially domestic evangelicals), the administration’s…
California bishop suspends Mass obligation due to immigration fears
San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas, who leads more than 1.5 million Catholics in Southern California, has formally excused parishioners from their weekly obligation to attend Mass following immigration detentions on two parish properties in the diocese.
We need to put an end to masked ICE agents
As I observed these groups of masked folks wearing gear, in some cases declaring them as police, I wondered why they were hiding. Could it be they know there is no defense for their dastardly behavior toward thousands of law-abiding…
Supreme Court clears way for third-country deportations
The Trump administration may deport undocumented immigrants to countries other than their own, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 23. The unsigned order reverses a lower court ruling granting unauthorized noncitizens an opportunity to demonstrate the risk of persecution, torture…
Moral witness, righteous indignation and partisan outrage
We need a moral and ethical witness based not on our social media feeds or biases but on an embedded, incarnational, long-term presence with those for whom we claim to have concern.