On April 1, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the pending termination of Title 42, the order that authorizes the rapid expulsion of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border due to the threat of COVID-19. The decision caused…
Religious leaders call on Senate to pass voting rights bill — to no avail
The United States Senate’s Jan. 19 refusal to pass voting rights legislation sent to it from the House of Representatives happened despite the appeals of religious leaders nationwide in the week of Martin Luther King celebrations. The National Council of…
CBF Global Missions resumes career field appointments, calls Rodríguez to border region service
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowhip announced today resumption of new appointments to field service through its Global Missions program after a two-year pause necessitated by the global pandemic. Elket Rodríguez has been named as CBF field personnel to serve among the…
Immigration advocates furious with Biden administration over Remain in Mexico policy
The Biden administration has created a rift with immigrant advocates by announcing it plans to resume the Trump-era practice of returning asylum seekers to Mexico as they await U.S. court hearings. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said Oct. 15…
Dreamers left with disappointment once again as Senate parliamentarian dashes their hopes
Immigrants and their allies are calling for bold and creative Congressional action after a U.S. Senate official blocked a Democratic attempt to address immigration reform through a $3.5 trillion budget proposal. Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough this week ruled that budget…
Paradoxical reflections on a significant birthday
Happy birthday to me. There, we got that out of the way. This week, I’m celebrating a “significant” birthday. It’s not round. It’s a gateway. My wife, Joanna, will celebrate the same-number feliz cumpleaños in five months. Because of those…
Why all the fuss about the ‘Remain in Mexico’ immigration policy?
How would you feel if someone you trust harmed you as badly or worse than someone who beat you? On an international level, that’s what the U.S. immigration policy known as Migrant Protection Protocols — or MPP, or “Remain in…
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…
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…
Politics, partisanship and the powerless
Can you think of a word more maligned than “politics”? Some people believe it’s a dirty term affixed to a despicable craft. That’s because, for the most part, it’s practiced so poorly. People watch politicians engage in politics, and they…
As VP Harris heads to Guatemala, evangelical leaders urge U.S. to address root causes of migration
As Vice President Kamala Harris headed to Guatemala this week as part of a campaign to address the root cause of the surge in migration to the United States, she was among recipients of a letter from a group of…
Immigration advocates applaud official end of ‘remain in Mexico’ policy
The Biden Administration has officially ended a 2019 immigration policy that forced tens of thousands of Central American refugees to remain in dangerous Mexican cities to await asylum hearings as they seek entry into the United States. President Joe Biden…