Immigration & Evangelicals

Last week the Pew Research Center released their latest poll on differences along political and religious lines in regards to answering the question: Does the US have a responsibility to accept refugees?

Only twenty-six per cent of republicans polled said "yes," compared to seventy-four percent of democrats.

A large split is also found among various religious groups.

Just twenty-five percent of white protestant evangelicals feel that the US has a responsibility to accept refugees; compared to forty-three percent among mainline protestants, sixty-three percent among black protestants, fifty percent among Catholics and sixty-five percent among religiously unaffiliated respondents to the survey.

One would hope that at least among professed followers of Jesus, there would be more empathy for those who were forced to flee their homeland.

The Trump administration has capped this year's refugee resettlement quota at 45,000 which would be the lowest since Congress passed the current refugee program in 1980. According to the Migration Policy Institute, this compares to a quota of 70,000 refugees in 2014 and 85,000 in 2016.

The MPI also reports that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has significantly ramped up its efforts given the go-ahead by the Trump administration. MPI reported that ICE arrests and deportations have gone up forty percent within the first eight months of 2018 as compared to 2017.

There has been active resistance to ICE methods in cities across the US designating themselves sanctuary cities, and changing local police practices in regards to cooperating with ICE leading to a decrease in non-citizen arrests.

NBC reported last week on a new policy adopted by the Department of Homeland Security, separating refugee children from their parents at the Mexican border. NBC stated it was part of Attorney Jeff Sessions' plan to criminally prosecute one hundred percent of people coming across the Mexican border illegally. Including families with children.

The DHS policy is to jail and separate the children, versus the old policy which most often kept families together. Under the new policy, children are sent to shelters or foster care homes, often without telling the parents where they have been taken. 

(Here's an opinion column by Nicholas Kristoff, with his take on this policy.)

Meanwhile, in response to an uptick in refugees crossing the Mexican border, there has been a reported riff between the current President and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen. The Washington Post has reported that the relationship between the two has become strained.

The Post noted that before giving a speech, early on in his presidency, the President huddled with Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller, two of his highest-level advisors. "Trump reminded them the crowds loved his rhetoric on immigrants along the campaign trail. Acting as if he were at a rally, he recited a few made-up Hispanic names and described the potential crimes they could have committed, such as rape or murder. Then, he said, the crowds would roar when the criminals were thrown out of the country - as they did when he highlighted crimes by illegal immigrants at his rallies, according to a person present for the exchange and another briefed on it later. Miller and Kushner laughed."

So, given all of the above developments, you would logically think that the evangelical Christians would be stepping up to the plate to defend the widow, the orphan and the homeless. 

Aren't there several Biblical injunctions that encourage this very thing, pointing out God's heart towards the poor, the oppressed, the refugee? Like Exodus 22:21-24, Leviticus 19:34 and 25:35, Deuteronomy 10:18 and 27:19?

Perhaps two of the best examples can be found in Isaiah: 58, starting in verse 6: "...Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you; Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them... Stop pointing your finger and spreading vicious rumors! Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness..."

Or, as the prophet Micah put it in Chapter 6, verse 8: "The Lord has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you; to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God."

Current events seem to be begging the questions: Why do only twenty-five percent of white evangelical protestants feel that the US has a responsibility to accept refugees? Why does this same group fully support an administration that actively and increasingly expresses contempt towards refugees?
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If you are concerned about the issue of how the US treats refugees, you can contact your US Senator or Representative via the Capitol Switchboard: 202-224-3121. You will be asked your zip code and then connected to their office. Let them know how you feel, but remain respectful. Most likely you'll speak with a staff person assigned to the issue of refugee resettlement. Be concise and stay on point. The general rule of thumb is that Congressional representatives and their staff put much more weight behind phone calls from constituents than any other form of communication. 

Photo Credits:  top dailybeast; middle transitiontimes; bottom abc news.