Rondell Trevino & The Immigraton Project

Rondell Trevino

Rondell Trevino is the founder of The Immigration Project (TIP). The organization's mission is to love and welcome immigrants. Towards this end TIP engages the church community in its work.

Your own story is quite interesting. It includes traveling to El Salvador to marry your wife, Laura. And then helping her apply for a I-130 Visa. It took over two-and-a-half years for Laura’s I-130 Visa to be approved. Can you describe what the process was like, and why it took so long?

The process was rigorous and painful spiritually. Our process took two years, which is long, but it was also one of the quickest, compared to others who apply for a visa. There’s a current 700,000 plus visa backlog, which leads to a long process of waiting. This is the case right now and another reason why the immigration system is broken.

In 2016 you began working for the Evangelical Immigration Table (EIT) as well as the National Immigration Forum (NIF). Part of your work involved training churches, businesses and law enforcement members on immigration, from a Biblical perspective. What was this work like?

The work focused heavily on building bridges between faith, business, and law enforcement leaders in Tennessee, Florida, and Virginia. A lot of the worked simply cold calling organizations and churches and asking if they would like to sign what is called the Evangelical Immigration Table Principals. The work was wonderful and needed, especially in equipping myself on how to think around policy rooted in Biblical principals.

What did you find to be the biggest challenge in your training work with the EIT and the NIF?

Many folks just didn’t want to engage with the issue of Immigration because it was “too political.” Mind you, this was in 2015, and since founding The immigration Project, I have seen a huge wave of churches engaging the issue of Immigration in a healthy way.

In your work, and in your own life, what myths (misconceptions) have you encountered when it comes to immigrants and the issue of immigration?

There’s too many to count! One of main ones is that “all undocumented immigrants are criminals and murderers.” This is far from the truth—yes, there’s a percentage who are “bad hombres” but the majority statistically and in my personal experience, are good people who love Jesus and make society flourish.

What, from your point of view, is a Biblical perspective on how to treat immigrants and refugees?

It starts in Genesis 1:27-28 where God created everyone in His image and commands them to be cultivators and creators of the Earth. This is a view we must place immigrants and refugees in at all times. Not to do this is to distort the Image of God.

According to a recent Pew Research poll (released in May, 2018), 86% of Protestants say the Church should care for refugees and immigrants (“the stranger among us.” But only eight percent said their church was actively involved in such efforts. In your experience, why is there this disconnect between belief and practice?

One of the biggest reasons why is because of the fear heightened in culture from the media. The media has a huge influence on the way we as Christians think and react toward immigrants and refugees. Therefore, we will say we should care for immigrants and refugees, but it’s harder to put those words into practice.

According to the Pew Research Center there are about 11.3 million undocumented immigrants living in the US. USA Today reported in April 2017, that the number of undocumented immigrants has remained flat over the past eight years. Yet the current Administration in Washington keeps pushing for a wall across the Mexican border and for stricter enforcement by ICE agents. In your opinion, why is this happening?

At the root, it seems to be because the administration wants to make America safer. In a way I understand because as I have said before, there’s a small percentage that are bad criminals who don’t want to change. However, they are categorizing all undocumented immigrants are bad criminals and detaining as many as possible—44,000 a day to be exact. Furthermore, I would say the push for a wall and stricter enforcement is because the president and his administration don’t want Immigrants in the country at all, especially undocumented.

In 2017 you launched The Immigration Project. Can you describe the mission and the vision of this organization?

Our mission is to love and welcome immigrants. This mission is our WHY—it conveys why we get up everyday and do what we do. Our vision is that every Christian will one-day love and welcome Immigrants while at the same time respect the rule of law.

What about the recent decision of the current presidential administration in Washington to implement a 100% prosecution goal for refugees crossing the Mexican border? And separating children from their parents/families?

Separating parents from children is just wrong, especially if families have been accepted as asylum seekers. They should be able to stay together. Now, if a parent is a convicted felon and/or wanted for murder in their country, it makes sense to detain the parent separate from their child for safety reasons, but the majority of immigrants seeking asylum shouldn’t be separated from family and thankfully this will not happen again because President Trump signed an executive order.

Over the past year, what gains or successes have you seen, in regards to the issue of immigration in the US?

A LOT of Christians have started engaging with  the issue of immigration like never before. I receive emails all the time and phone calls of Christians interested in sitting down and learning about immigration. It’s been encouraging!

If there were one thing that you wish people would understand about immigration and undocumented immigrants living in the US, what would that be?

That the majority are people to love, not problems to solve. The majority are people to love, not projects to save. They are humans with a heart, soul, and mind.

In what ways can people become involved in the issue of helping or advocating for undocumented immigrants in the US?

They can Google “Immigration organizations in my city” and go volunteer. They can donate to organization like The Immigration Project here.

Is there anything else you’d like to mention?

I love the Church and firmly believe it can be the greatest advocate on behalf of Immigrants and Refugees. It’s possible.

You can follow Rondell Trevino on Twitter.