The plan to withdraw all American forces from Afghanistan by Sept. 11 has become increasingly problematic for the Biden administration, which is faced not only with gradually and safely returning military personnel to the U.S. but also grappling with the…
New court ruling shielding Trump officials who cleared Lafayette Square for the Bible photo op renews debate about ‘qualified immunity’
A federal judge’s June 21 ruling to protect former Trump administration officials from lawsuits stemming from their actions to forcibly clear Lafayette Square on June 1, 2020, illustrates the near-impossibility of any government official being held responsible for acting in…
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…
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…
Faith leaders express joy as Biden finally raises ceiling for refugee admissions to 62,500
After an outcry from the faith community and immigration advocates, the Biden administration May 3 fully reversed course and returned to its earlier plan to raise the ceiling for refugee admissions this fiscal year to 62,500 people. That will be…
As unaccompanied children surge across the border again, Baptist ministries retool
A massive facility for immigrant children run by a Baptist-affiliated nonprofit has been reopened after sitting dormant for 20 months. The Carrizo Springs Influx Care Facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, is operated by BCFS, formerly known as Baptist Child and…
Amid pandemic and other distractions, Americans not paying as much attention to immigration policy
While being against immigration was a key component of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and being for immigration was a key component of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, the pandemic has taken Americans’ minds off the immigration debate as a…
Refugee resettlement expected to rebound, but the pipeline is broken
Repairing the global damage done by the Trump administration to refugee resettlement work will take time but will happen, according a panel of evangelical Christians deeply involved in such work. The Jan. 27 press briefing was convened by the National…
Trump administration pushes evangelical agenda through last-minute actions
While the world’s attention has been riveted on the Jan. 6 Capitol melee, the Trump administration in its waning days has continued to push through the social agenda of conservative evangelicals. Despite pending litigation with the Supreme Court, the Department…