The United States will widen its use of rapid deportations under Title 42 for immigrants who enter the nation illegally while simultaneously streamlining the asylum and parole application processes to help reduce illegal crossings at the Southwest border, President Joe…
How to show Greg Abbott and other Grinches the true spirit of Christmas
The governor of the state where I live proved himself to be a Grinch of the first order Christmas Eve — and apparently a coward too. Three busloads of migrants were delivered outside the door of Vice President Kamala Harris’…
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…
70% of conservatives still want immigration reforms this year, but it’s not likely to happen
With just days left in the current session of Congress, new national polling shows 73% of Americans — including 70% of self-identified conservatives — want Congress to act this year to pass immigration reform. “Time is tight, but Americans are…
Immigration advocate surveys asylum-seekers to measure anxiety and depression
Immigrant advocate and social worker Sue Smith has noticed a significant increase in asylum seekers arriving in the United States with severe cases of anxiety and depression, making it harder for them to learn English, enroll their children in schools…
In Central Texas, the Naomi House makes me proud to be a Baptist again
I never imagined I would utter, much less think, these words: “I am proud to be a Baptist.” But it happened. I don’t need to recount the long laundry list of problems with our denomination or with the church in…
Time is running out for DACA, and immigration advocates say it’s immoral for Congress not to act
The need for Congress to end its decades-long failure to address immigration reform took on immediate urgency Oct. 5 when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals deemed the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy illegal. For Dreamers who have lived…
As Trump rallies voters to hate immigrants, new research shows more evangelicals are listening to the Bible’s welcome
While Donald Trump continues to rally conservative evangelicals to his anti-immigrant campaign, new research from a conservative evangelical organization finds fewer Christians are buying what Trump is selling. As recently as a Sept. 17 rally in Youngstown, Ohio, Trump vocalized…
Jesus does not ask me to assimilate
I am no longer a teacher, but I often speak and write about biblical justice and immigration. In this context I often hear people say that immigrants do not assimilate. As a good advocate, I am supposed to say, “Yes,…
Religion, race and politics are key factors in attitudes on welcoming refugees
Research into American attitudes about welcoming Afghan, Ukrainian and other refugees into the nation confirms how closely religion, race and politics have become intwined in the United States. “For instance, Hispanic evangelicals, Black Protestants and white nonevangelical Protestants are all…
Who is my neighbor? Reflecting theologically on the migrant crisis
“Who is my neighbor?” The expert of the law, the one whose job it was to study Scriptures, asked Jesus this question in Luke 10. Of course, the expert probably knew the answer. He knew the original languages and pored…
Three Catholic governors shipping migrants for political points are practicing ‘fake religion,’ Wallis says
Claiming to be faithful Catholics while shipping bewildered refugees by plane and bus to other states is a case of “fake religion” for the governors of Arizona, Florida and Texas, Sojourners magazine founder Jim Wallis said during a virtual press…