A Family Separated After 35 Years in the U.S.: When One Part of the Body Suffers

Dear friends,

I just got off of a phone call with a woman named Stephanie. Stephanie is a teacher at a Christian school in Southern California; prior to that, she worked in youth ministry at Saddleback Church. She’s earned a bachelor’s degree from one Christian college and a master’s degree from another. I was struck by how much Stephanie and I have in common – but this sister in Christ’s recent life experience has been profoundly different than my own.

Last month, after more than thirty-five years in the United States, Stephanie’s mother and father were handcuffed and arrested by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. After being separated and sent to different jail-like detention facilities across the country where they were held for about three weeks, they were deported to Colombia. Hearing Stephanie describe the pain of being separated from her parents was difficult to hear.

Of course, like most Americans and most Christians, I think that there are some people who should be deported: when someone is convicted of murder or rape or some other violent crime, I want them to be deported (if they’re ever allowed out of prison). But Stephanie describes her parents as people who sound a lot like my parents: normal people who had worked to pay their bills, filed and paid their taxes, led Bible studies at their church, doted on their grandchild – and without any criminal record. In fact, they initially came to the U.S. fleeing from crime, at a time in the late 1980s when violent crime was rampant in Colombia. They sought asylum under the terms of U.S. law, but like many others, received some poor legal advice that left them without options to pursue permanent legal status.

Stephanie’s mom and dad have now been swept up in an increase in immigration enforcement. While there’s been a slight increase in the number of immigrants held in detention facilities who have been convicted of a crime (including both serious violent offenses and minor, nonviolent offenses) over the past two months, the much more dramatic increase has been a five-fold increase in the number of detained immigrants not convicted or accused of any crime. At this point, though some face pending charges, the majority of immigrants held in detention and facing deportation have not been convicted of a crime, which was not true two months ago.

It’s also important to me that Stephanie and her family are my brothers and sisters in Christ. When we talk about deportations, we’re not just talking about a social or legal issue that impact people “out there”– we’re talking about us, because the Church, as described by the Apostle Paul, is a single body formed of many distinct, interdependent parts. When one part of the body suffers, every part suffers with it (1 Cor. 12:26). And, as a new report released today demonstrates, roughly four out of five of those vulnerable to deportations in the United States are Christians of one theological tradition or another. If the administration seeks – and Congress appropriates the necessary funding – to deport all of those who are unlawfully present and all those with temporary legal protections that the administration could withdraw, roughly one in 12 Christians in the United States could be deported or have at least one family member deported. The ramifications for the church are sobering.

Most evangelical Christians want those convicted of violent crimes to be deported, according a Lifeway Research study that the Evangelical Immigration Table sponsored in January, but less than one-fifth of evangelicals said the same about those who would be willing to pay a fine as restitution for their violation of an immigration law, for those who have been present in the U.S. for a decade or longer or for those who have U.S. citizen children or spouses. I invite you to use this easy tool (I promise, it is really, really easy and takes just a few minutes) to ask your Members of Congress ensure that the Department of Homeland Security has the resources necessary to ensure secure borders and to deport violent criminals – but not a blank check to detain and deport much larger numbers of people, including many brothers and sisters in Christ and many immigrants who would be separated from their U.S. citizen family members.

Most importantly, I’d ask you to join me in prayer for:

• Stephanie and her parents, as they adjust to a new reality of living in different countries, separated by thousands of miles
• Immigrants within our congregations fearful of the effects of increased deportation efforts
• Children who could be left behind when a parent is deported
• The witness of the Church as we navigate these dynamics – that our response would draw people to, rather than repel people from, a relationship with Jesus
• Law enforcement officers who have important responsibilities to enforce laws and policies set by others and to ensure public safety while also treating people humanely
• President Trump, Secretary of Homeland Security Noem and other governmental leaders, that they would have wisdom as compassion as they set policies that impact the Body of Christ
• Members of Congress, that they would have prudence and courage as they consider funding proposals that will either facilitate or limit the expansion of immigration enforcement and proposals such as the bipartisan American Families United Act, which would present alternatives to deportation and separation for mixed-status families

In Christ,

Matthew Soerens
National Coordinator, Evangelical Immigration Table