Faith groups resolve to protect migrants, refugees after Trump win
(RNS) — ‘Together, we will transform our grief into a force for change that will build a more just, equitable society that respects the dignity of all people,’ Omar Angel Perez, Faith in Action’s immigrant justice director, said.
Immigrants from Honduras recount their separation from their children at the border during a news conference in 2018 at Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas. AP Photo/Matt York
Aleja Hertzler-McCain
November 6, 2024
(RNS) — Former President Donald Trump’s election to a second term prompted faith groups that work with migrants and refugees to reaffirm their commitment to continue their work on Wednesday (Nov. 6), after Trump campaigned on blocking migration and carrying out record deportations.
“Given President-elect Trump’s record on immigration and promises to suspend refugee resettlement, restrict asylum protections, and carry out mass deportations, we know there are serious challenges ahead for the communities we serve,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, formerly known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, in a statement.
On the campaign trail, Trump also promised to end automatic citizenship for immigrants’ children born in the U.S.; end protected legal status for certain groups, including Haitians and Venezuelans; and reinstate a travel ban for people from certain Muslim-majority areas.
If Trump carries out his plans, FWD.us, an immigration and criminal justice reform advocacy organization, projects that by the start of 2025, about 1 in 12 U.S. residents, and nearly 1 in 3 Latino residents, could be impacted by the mass deportations either because of their legal status or that of someone in the household.
“If the mass deportation articulated throughout the campaign season is implemented, it would tear families, communities, and the American economy apart,” Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, a Jewish nonprofit working with refugees, said in a statement. “The solution to the disorder at the border is to prioritize comprehensive immigration reform that updates our antiquated immigration laws while protecting people who need refuge.”
“We will continue to speak truth to power in solidarity with refugees and displaced people seeking safety around the world,” Hetfield said. “We will not be intimidated into silence or inaction,” his organization wrote.
RELATED: Threats to Catholic Charities staffers increase amid far-right anti-migrant campaign
Omar Angel Perez, immigrant justice director for Faith in Action, a social justice organization, said in a statement, “We recognize the fear and uncertainty many are feeling and pray that we can channel that energy into solidarity and resilience.”
“This moment calls us to take immediate action to protect the communities targeted throughout this campaign and during the prior Trump administration,” Perez said. “We remain committed to providing resources, support, and training to empower people to know their rights and stand firm against attempts to undermine their power.”
Matthew Soerens. Photo courtesy of World Relief
Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, pointed to polling by Lifeway Research earlier this year that showed that 71% of evangelicals agree that the U.S. “has a moral responsibility to accept refugees.”
“A majority of Christian voters supported President-elect Trump, according to the exit polls, but it’d be an error to presume that means that most Christians align with everything that he’s said in the campaign related to refugees and immigration,” he said.
Soerens explained that when Christians “realize that most refugees resettled to the U.S. in recent years have been fellow Christians, that they’re admitted lawfully after a thorough vetting process overseas and that many were persecuted particularly because of their faith in Jesus, my experience has been that they want to sustain refugee resettlement.”
“We’ll be doing all we can to encourage President-elect Trump, who has positioned himself as a defender of Christians against persecution, to ensure that the U.S. remains a refuge for those fleeing persecution on account of their faith or for other reasons recognized by U.S. law,” he said.
In a statement, Jesuit Refugee Service said Trump’s 2024 campaign rhetoric and his previous term had harmed “forcibly displaced people.”
Policies in his first term “separated families, set up new hurdles in the asylum process, dramatically reduced the number of refugees the U.S. resettled, introduced a ban on admitting travelers from predominantly Muslim countries, and deprioritized international efforts to address the exploding global refugee population,” the Catholic organization said.
To welcome and serve migrants is “an obligation” for Catholics, the JRS statement said. “How we respond to the tens of millions of people forced to flee their homes is a serious moral, legal, diplomatic, and economic question that impacts all of us,” the organization wrote.
Despite the disproportionate impact that Trump’s proposed immigration policies would have on Latino communities, Trump made significant gains among Latinos compared with previous elections, winning Latino American men’s vote by 10 points.
The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, attributed Trump’s success to several factors, including a rejection of progressive ideologies, economic concerns and concerns about government overreach
RELATED: Judge rules against Texas Attorney General Paxton in campaign against migrant shelters
“It’s going to fall to border communities like El Paso to deal with the fallout of what we can expect will be some very broken policies and some very dangerous rhetoric,” Corbett said. “And so I think we have to prepare for that. And that means turning back to our faith, going back to the Gospels, going back to the witness of Jesus, the witness of the saints, martyrs,” he said.
In Global Refuge’s statement, the organization encouraged Americans to support immigrants and refugees, “emphasizing the importance of family unity, humanitarian leadership, and the long-standing benefits of immigrant and refugee contributions to U.S. communities and economies.”
Vignarajah added, “In uncertain times, it is vital to remember that our role as Americans is to help those in need, and in doing so, we advance our own interests as well.”
Perez told RNS before the election that Faith in Action had prepared for a potential Trump win and that the organization would draw on its experience “responding to the attacks on the immigrant community” and mounting protection defense campaigns to prevent deportations.
González recalled working in a legal clinic after Trump’s 2016 election and helping migrants process citizenship and sponsorship applications before he took office. “This is really the time for that sort of practical action of how we can serve our neighbors,” she said.
“Together, we will transform our grief into a force for change that will build a more just, equitable society that respects the dignity of all people,” Perez said.
(RNS) — ‘Together, we will transform our grief into a force for change that will build a more just, equitable society that respects the dignity of all people,’ Omar Angel Perez, Faith in Action’s immigrant justice director, said.
Immigrants from Honduras recount their separation from their children at the border during a news conference in 2018 at Annunciation House in El Paso, Texas. AP Photo/Matt York
Aleja Hertzler-McCain
November 6, 2024
(RNS) — Former President Donald Trump’s election to a second term prompted faith groups that work with migrants and refugees to reaffirm their commitment to continue their work on Wednesday (Nov. 6), after Trump campaigned on blocking migration and carrying out record deportations.
“Given President-elect Trump’s record on immigration and promises to suspend refugee resettlement, restrict asylum protections, and carry out mass deportations, we know there are serious challenges ahead for the communities we serve,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, formerly known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, in a statement.
On the campaign trail, Trump also promised to end automatic citizenship for immigrants’ children born in the U.S.; end protected legal status for certain groups, including Haitians and Venezuelans; and reinstate a travel ban for people from certain Muslim-majority areas.
If Trump carries out his plans, FWD.us, an immigration and criminal justice reform advocacy organization, projects that by the start of 2025, about 1 in 12 U.S. residents, and nearly 1 in 3 Latino residents, could be impacted by the mass deportations either because of their legal status or that of someone in the household.
“If the mass deportation articulated throughout the campaign season is implemented, it would tear families, communities, and the American economy apart,” Mark Hetfield, president of HIAS, a Jewish nonprofit working with refugees, said in a statement. “The solution to the disorder at the border is to prioritize comprehensive immigration reform that updates our antiquated immigration laws while protecting people who need refuge.”
“We will continue to speak truth to power in solidarity with refugees and displaced people seeking safety around the world,” Hetfield said. “We will not be intimidated into silence or inaction,” his organization wrote.
RELATED: Threats to Catholic Charities staffers increase amid far-right anti-migrant campaign
Omar Angel Perez, immigrant justice director for Faith in Action, a social justice organization, said in a statement, “We recognize the fear and uncertainty many are feeling and pray that we can channel that energy into solidarity and resilience.”
“This moment calls us to take immediate action to protect the communities targeted throughout this campaign and during the prior Trump administration,” Perez said. “We remain committed to providing resources, support, and training to empower people to know their rights and stand firm against attempts to undermine their power.”
Matthew Soerens. Photo courtesy of World Relief
Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief, the humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, pointed to polling by Lifeway Research earlier this year that showed that 71% of evangelicals agree that the U.S. “has a moral responsibility to accept refugees.”
“A majority of Christian voters supported President-elect Trump, according to the exit polls, but it’d be an error to presume that means that most Christians align with everything that he’s said in the campaign related to refugees and immigration,” he said.
Soerens explained that when Christians “realize that most refugees resettled to the U.S. in recent years have been fellow Christians, that they’re admitted lawfully after a thorough vetting process overseas and that many were persecuted particularly because of their faith in Jesus, my experience has been that they want to sustain refugee resettlement.”
“We’ll be doing all we can to encourage President-elect Trump, who has positioned himself as a defender of Christians against persecution, to ensure that the U.S. remains a refuge for those fleeing persecution on account of their faith or for other reasons recognized by U.S. law,” he said.
In a statement, Jesuit Refugee Service said Trump’s 2024 campaign rhetoric and his previous term had harmed “forcibly displaced people.”
Policies in his first term “separated families, set up new hurdles in the asylum process, dramatically reduced the number of refugees the U.S. resettled, introduced a ban on admitting travelers from predominantly Muslim countries, and deprioritized international efforts to address the exploding global refugee population,” the Catholic organization said.
To welcome and serve migrants is “an obligation” for Catholics, the JRS statement said. “How we respond to the tens of millions of people forced to flee their homes is a serious moral, legal, diplomatic, and economic question that impacts all of us,” the organization wrote.
Despite the disproportionate impact that Trump’s proposed immigration policies would have on Latino communities, Trump made significant gains among Latinos compared with previous elections, winning Latino American men’s vote by 10 points.
The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, attributed Trump’s success to several factors, including a rejection of progressive ideologies, economic concerns and concerns about government overreach
.
The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez in 2013. Courtesy photo
But the evangelical megachurch pastor also said, “While immigration is a nuanced issue within the Latino community, there is a growing sentiment against open-border policies and the provision of resources to illegal immigrants at the perceived expense of American citizens.”
Karen González, a Guatemalan immigrant and author of several books on Christian responses to immigration, called Trump’s victory in the popular vote “especially crushing” in light of his anti-migrant rhetoric. She attributed Trump’s success with Latinos to white supremacy and misogyny within the community.
“We really aspire to be secondary white people, and we think that aligning ourselves with white supremacy is going to save us, and it’s not,” she said.
González was among the faith leaders who said they had not emotionally reckoned with the possibility of a Trump win before the results were announced.
Dylan Corbett, executive director of Hope Border Institute, a Catholic organization that supports migrants in El Paso, Texas, and in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, across the U.S.-Mexican border, told RNS, “I was hopeful that we had turned the page because I think (the first Trump term) represents a really challenging time in our country.”
Corbett called for “deep reckoning” in churches and grassroots communities. “There’s the perception that the (immigration) system is broken, and I think the longer we wait to really fix the situation, you open up the door to political extremism. You open up the door to incendiary rhetoric, to cheap solutions,” he said.
While President Joe Biden’s administration had begun with “some really aspirational rhetoric,” it “left a mixed legacy on immigration,” opening the door to Trump’s “dangerous politics.”
“Faith leaders in particular are going to have to assume a very public voice in defense of the human rights of now a very vulnerable part of our community,” he said.
Corbett expressed concern that Trump might mirror Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s tactics in Operation Lone Star in his push for massive deportations, citing deaths due to high-speed chases on highways and record migrant deaths.
The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez in 2013. Courtesy photo
But the evangelical megachurch pastor also said, “While immigration is a nuanced issue within the Latino community, there is a growing sentiment against open-border policies and the provision of resources to illegal immigrants at the perceived expense of American citizens.”
Karen González, a Guatemalan immigrant and author of several books on Christian responses to immigration, called Trump’s victory in the popular vote “especially crushing” in light of his anti-migrant rhetoric. She attributed Trump’s success with Latinos to white supremacy and misogyny within the community.
“We really aspire to be secondary white people, and we think that aligning ourselves with white supremacy is going to save us, and it’s not,” she said.
González was among the faith leaders who said they had not emotionally reckoned with the possibility of a Trump win before the results were announced.
Dylan Corbett, executive director of Hope Border Institute, a Catholic organization that supports migrants in El Paso, Texas, and in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, across the U.S.-Mexican border, told RNS, “I was hopeful that we had turned the page because I think (the first Trump term) represents a really challenging time in our country.”
Corbett called for “deep reckoning” in churches and grassroots communities. “There’s the perception that the (immigration) system is broken, and I think the longer we wait to really fix the situation, you open up the door to political extremism. You open up the door to incendiary rhetoric, to cheap solutions,” he said.
While President Joe Biden’s administration had begun with “some really aspirational rhetoric,” it “left a mixed legacy on immigration,” opening the door to Trump’s “dangerous politics.”
“Faith leaders in particular are going to have to assume a very public voice in defense of the human rights of now a very vulnerable part of our community,” he said.
Corbett expressed concern that Trump might mirror Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s tactics in Operation Lone Star in his push for massive deportations, citing deaths due to high-speed chases on highways and record migrant deaths.
RELATED: Judge rules against Texas Attorney General Paxton in campaign against migrant shelters
“It’s going to fall to border communities like El Paso to deal with the fallout of what we can expect will be some very broken policies and some very dangerous rhetoric,” Corbett said. “And so I think we have to prepare for that. And that means turning back to our faith, going back to the Gospels, going back to the witness of Jesus, the witness of the saints, martyrs,” he said.
In Global Refuge’s statement, the organization encouraged Americans to support immigrants and refugees, “emphasizing the importance of family unity, humanitarian leadership, and the long-standing benefits of immigrant and refugee contributions to U.S. communities and economies.”
Vignarajah added, “In uncertain times, it is vital to remember that our role as Americans is to help those in need, and in doing so, we advance our own interests as well.”
Perez told RNS before the election that Faith in Action had prepared for a potential Trump win and that the organization would draw on its experience “responding to the attacks on the immigrant community” and mounting protection defense campaigns to prevent deportations.
González recalled working in a legal clinic after Trump’s 2016 election and helping migrants process citizenship and sponsorship applications before he took office. “This is really the time for that sort of practical action of how we can serve our neighbors,” she said.
“Together, we will transform our grief into a force for change that will build a more just, equitable society that respects the dignity of all people,” Perez said.
BALTIMORE (RNS) — At their annual meeting in Baltimore, the bishops' chair on immigration said, 'This is going to be a test for our nation. Are we in fact a nation based on law, on the most fundamental laws about the rights of the human person?'
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally at the Gaylord Rockies Resort and Convention Center Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Aurora, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Aleja Hertzler-McCain
November 12, 2024
BALTIMORE (RNS) — Gathering in Baltimore on Tuesday (Nov. 12), just a week after former President Donald Trump won reelection, leaders of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops promised to defend immigrants and poor people in the coming years.
“As the successors of the Apostles and vicars of Christ in our dioceses, we never backpedal or renounce the clear teaching of the Gospel. We proclaim it in and out of season,” said Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the conference, who also leads the Archdiocese for the Military Services.
Broglio’s comments expanded on an appearance last week on the Catholic media network EWTN, where the archbishop said the majority of Catholics had supported Trump due to concern for the “dignity of the human person.” In Baltimore Broglio made clear that human dignity should be protected “from womb to tomb,” saying the bishops were committed “to see Christ in those who are most in need, to defend and lift up the poor, and to encourage immigration reform, while we continue to care for those in need who cross our borders.”
Cautioning that the bishops “certainly do not encourage illegal immigration,” he said, to applause from his fellow bishops, “we will all have to stand before the throne of grace and hear the Lord ask us if we saw him in the hungry, thirsty, naked, homeless, stranger, or sick and responded to his needs.”
RELATED: US Catholic bishops elect Archbishop Timothy Broglio as conference president
At a press conference, El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, current chair of the migration committee, said that while the conference was waiting to see how Trump’s campaign rhetoric will materialize as policy, the conference would speak out for migrants in the event of mass deportations.
FILE – El Paso Catholic Bishop Mark Seitz talks with Celsia Palma, 9, of Honduras, as they walk to the Paso Del Norte International Port of Entry on June, 27, 2019, in Juarez, Mexico. (AP Photo/Rudy Gutierrez)
“We will raise our voice loudly if those basic protections for people that have been a part of our country from its very beginning are not being respected,” Seitz said, referring to both legal and human rights. “This is going to be a test for our nation. Are we in fact a nation based on law, on the most fundamental laws about the rights of the human person?”
RELATED: Judge rules against Texas Attorney General Paxton in campaign against migrant shelters
When asked how he would respond if Trump followed through on suggestions about involving the military in mass deportations, Broglio said he had a responsibility to “ensure pastoral care” for the military.
“Unfortunately, the way the military is set up, you cannot conscientiously object to a policy or to a certain war, you have to conscientiously object to war in general, and so that doesn’t really provide an avenue out of the service,” Broglio said.
However, he said he would counsel that “no one can be obliged to go against his or her conscience,” and said that chaplains would work to defend those conscience rights as best as they could within the system. Broglio also raised concerns that mass deportations would not be economically sound given the number of open jobs.
Arlington, Virginia, Bishop Michael Burbidge, who leads the USCCB Committee on Pro-Life Activities, celebrated three instances where state ballot measures securing abortion rights failed on Election Day and commended bishops on their efforts in the seven states where abortion rights came out on top.
Burbidge said the bishops had learned they needed to get out early in messaging. “The truth has to be conveyed concisely and in a clear way to all the faithful because distortion of the truth has been a big part of these ballot initiatives,” he said, also asserting that the bishops could not compete financially with the abortion rights movement and explaining that underlining the “extreme” nature of the ballot measures was persuasive for voters.
Migrants seeking asylum line up while waiting to be processed after crossing the border Wednesday, June 5, 2024, near San Diego, Calif. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia)
He said they also intended to practice perseverance and continue to look to partner with others on anti-abortion work.
Kansas City, Kansas, Archbishop Joseph Naumann told his fellow bishops during a discussion period that the success of and votes of many Catholics for abortion rights ballot initiatives should be a “wake up call,” similar to a 2019 Pew poll showing low levels of belief in Catholic teaching on the Eucharist. Though later polls called that 2019 Pew poll into question, the bishops’ concern about Communion led to their three-year evangelization project, the National Eucharistic Revival. Kansas was one state where an abortion rights ballot measure was successful in 2022.
The bishops also voted for new chairs for various committees of the conference, including the bishop who will chair the conference’s committee on migration through the bulk of Trump’s presidency. Bishop Brendan Cahill, of the border diocese of Victoria, Texas, was elected to that position and will take the helm of the committee after next November’s meeting in 2025.
Generally, the bishops elected the higher-ranking bishop in the match-ups for who would lead their committees. One exception was the election for the chairman of the committee of divine worship, for which the bishops chose Cleveland Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost over Portland, Oregon, Archbishop Alexander Sample. Sample banned Mass at a Lutheran-Catholic ecumenical community in his diocese last winter and is seen as among the most conservative wing of the conference on liturgy and LGBTQ+ issues.
Bishop Stepan Sus, a leader of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church, delivered an extended address to the conference, speaking of Ukrainian suffering, warning against Russian framing of their military action as holy and thanking the U.S. church for their prayers and material support. “We believe God will not abandon us and will help us stop this evil,” he told the bishops.
Bishop Sus received lengthy standing applause from the bishops in the room. Last week, Trump called Vladimir Putin, reportedly urging the Russian leader not to escalate the country’s military campaign in Ukraine. He also reportedly supports a peace deal that would allow Russia to keep some captured territory.
On Tuesday, bishops spoke of the various initiatives in the church that they hoped would lead to greater devotion among the faithful.
“We redouble our efforts to introduce civility into the everyday discourse. Christians should be catalysts for a more humane and worthy approach to daily life,” said Broglio.
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