“Porque toda la tierra del mundo pertenece a Dios, a los ojos de Dios, todos somos inmigrantes.” (Levítico 25:23) “Because all the land in the world belongs to God, in the eyes of God we are all immigrants.” (Leviticus 25:23)…
27 more religious groups sue to stop ICE raids at churches
Fellowship Southwest and the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas are among 27 religious bodies that filed suit against the Trump administration Feb. 11 to stop ICE agents from having access to houses of worship for immigration raids. The multiparty lawsuit…
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…
Churches educating congregants on how to respond if ICE shows up
Religious groups are hoping for the best and preparing for the worst now that immigration raids can be conducted in churches, schools and other spaces historically off limits to such actions. The Trump administration rescinded previous guidance barring Immigration and…
ICE raids in churches violate conservative principles
The recent lawsuit filed by Quaker groups against the federal government highlights an issue on which conservatives seem increasingly prone to waffle: the sanctity of religious freedom and the protection of churches from government overreach. Conservatives often advocate for robust…
Quakers file suit to stop ICE raids at churches like what happened Sunday
One day after federal immigration agents arrested a man at a church in Georgia, a coalition of Quaker meetings filed suit in federal court to block the Department of Homeland Security raids at houses of worship. The new policy of…
‘Laken Riley Act’ sets the stage for Trump campaign against immigrants
Amid a flurry of executive orders from the White House immediately after Donald Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20, immigrant and refugee advocates were on the lookout for signs of the campaign promises they fear most. Some of those things came true…
Trump’s new ICE policy attacks the church
Last week, the incoming Trump administration announced it will rescind a 2011 ICE policy that keeps government officials from entering sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals to carry out immigration raids and deportations. The mere thought of this…
I came to America the right way and still was imprisoned for more than five months
In 2018, I was at JFK airport about to fly internationally for the first time after the grant of my refugee status in 2017. The line was very long — the definitive punishment for people who could not afford a…
Lost amid other news: Number of migrants being held in U.S. detention centers has decreased
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…
Report says Trump administration lied about immigrant parents wanting to leave children behind
Faith-based and secular immigrant rights groups are expressing outrage over revelations in a federal watchdog report that say the Trump administration intentionally prevented hundreds of deported migrants from leaving the U.S. with their children. The revelations surfaced in a May…
The true story of two immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. and the pastor who’s helping them
Michael Wangai (not his real name) has been in U.S. immigration “detention” since August 2019. The only crime he has committed is seeking political asylum in the United States with a certainty that if he returns to his home country…