What follows is an open letter from more than 100 Chicago-area clergy issued Friday, Oct. 17. “Can I use my pastoral expense account to buy a gas mask?” It’s a question dozens of Chicago pastors asked our church boards…
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…
Seven commendations for resisting counterfeit faith
Night owl that I am, these thoughts began composing in my mind at the stroke of midnight, just as the U.S. government closed (many of) its doors. I began imagining the anxiety, even panic, hundreds of thousands of federal employees…
In Chicago, Black and brown people are disappearing
The president of the United States has ordered an assault on Chicago. That assault is being carried out by a combination of groups — including uniformed Customs and Border Patrol officers, uniformed Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and plainclothes men…
I was a stranger … and you took away my food and put me in prison
In Matthew 25, Jesus teaches about the final judgment of nations with words that should pierce our hearts today: “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a…
Trump will pay migrant children to leave US
The U.S. government plans to pay $2,500 to unaccompanied migrant children who voluntarily deport themselves from the country, the Department of Health and Human Services said in a memo to attorneys representing noncitizen minors. The policy affects undocumented immigrant children…
What Charlie Kirk’s Medal of Freedom says about the honor
On Oct. 14 — what would have been Charlie Kirk’s 32nd birthday — the president of the United States posthumously awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The founder of Turning Point USA, Kirk was fatally shot last month while…
Jack Graham says never-Trumpers should rethink now
President Donald Trump’s role in securing a peace deal between Israel and Hamas should cause never-Trumpers to change their minds, according to Dallas megachurch pastor Jack Graham. On Monday, Oct. 13, as hostages and prisoners were exchanged in the Middle…
What I witnessed in Chicago: Day 1
When my editor called me Friday and asked if I’d like to fly to Chicago to cover what’s happening here, I, of course, said yes. News had just broken that a Presbyterian pastor had been shot in the head with…
Trump plans to slash refugee admissions and only let in whites
President Donald Trump is expected to cut refugee admissions into the United States to 7,500 next year — a new low for the U.S. and half the previous record-setting low cap set during his first presidency. The administration also is…
Chicago pastor sues Trump after ICE assaults him while praying
A Presbyterian minister attacked by ICE agents during the peaceful protest of a Chicago-area migrant processing center has joined a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration’s violence against demonstrators and media. David Black, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of…