May Prayer Partner: Praying for Dreamers
May 11, 2021
Last week was an exciting week. On Monday, we learned that – after significant advocacy from evangelical Christians among many others – President Biden had reversed course and set a new, revised refugee ceiling of 62,500, creating the legal authority for an increased number of refugees to be resettled this year. I personally have no doubt that our advocacy and our prayers contributed to this change, which will have life-changing impacts for people like Congolese refugee Joseph Madogo and his wife Diane, whose planned reunification in Memphis was deferred by the delay in signing a new refugee ceiling.
On Thursday, many of you were able to join our partners at the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission for a conversation between Dr. Russell Moore, Yuval Levin and President George W. Bush. If you missed the conversation live, I’d encourage you to watch the recording.
One point that both President Bush and Dr. Moore made clearly is that our country is desperate for bipartisan cooperation on immigration policy issues, particularly for Dreamers, the young people brought as children to the United States who remain ineligible for citizenship unless Congress takes action. Furthermore, a pending lawsuit could be decided any day that could once again throw the future of Dreamers into limbo.
Proverbs 3:27-28 says this:
“Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to act.
Do not say to your neighbor,
‘Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you’—
when you already have it with you.”
There’s no reason for Congress to further delay resolving this situation for Dreamers, nor to wait for a judge’s order to turn this into a crisis. It’s within Congress’ power to act now, and it’s within our power to respectfully urge them to do so. At our new advocacy center, you’ll find two very easy ways to do so: signing onto this letter to your Members of Congress and using this tool to make a telephone call to their offices.
But just as importantly, we’d ask you to be praying for your Members of Congress – that God would grant them wisdom and courage – as well as for the Dreamers and for other vulnerable immigrants whose lives are directly affected by their policy actions (or inaction). We’d encourage you to join other evangelical Christians from throughout the country for a brief time of prayer in virtual small groups on May 17 at 4 PM ET/3 PM CT/2 PM MT/1 PM PT. Click here to join the meeting or here for a calendar invitation with the call-in info.
P.S. Several Christian thinkers who I really admire have all contributed to a new book looking at the intersection of evangelism and immigration called No Longer Strangers: Transforming Evangelism with Immigrant Communities, edited by Eugene Cho and Samira Page. I’ve got a few extra copies, and I found the book so helpful (as did endorsers like Southern Baptist Convention president J.D. Greear, World Relief president Scott Arbeiter and Wheaton College’s Ed Stetzer) that I want to give a few copies away – especially to those of you who signed the letter to your Members of Congress, though we won’t make that a requirement. If you’d like a chance to win a copy, just fill out this form by Friday, May 14, then I’ll randomly select two winners.
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The Evangelical Immigration Table is a broad coalition of evangelical organizations and leaders advocating for immigration reform consistent with biblical values.
