Christians, Immigrants, and the Dignity of Every Person

Network

Jun 16

A Pastoral Response in Time for Refugee Awareness Month

Scripture consistently reminds God’s people to remember the foreigner, protect the vulnerable, and practice hospitality. We celebrate that we live in a nation where Christians can hold differing views on immigration enforcement, border policy, and legislation and still be unified in our belief of the Bible and our commitment to the values of the Kingdom of God. Moreover, as people who uphold the Imago Dei—that every human is created in the image of God—and the Missio Dei—that God and His Church have a mission—we must particularly not lose sight of the humanity of refugees, migrants, asylum seekers, and other vulnerable populations present in our nation. They are mothers and fathers, children and neighbors, image-bearers with stories, gifts, fears, and hopes regardless of the factors that led to their migration.

In recent days, the White House has launched a website aliens.gov. Many Christians have found its usage of unhuman and inhumane rhetoric deeply troubling, especially as it views certain immigrants in America as a part of an “alien” class in the extraterrestrial sense, “invading” our country with malice. Regardless of political affiliation or one’s views on immigration policy, we are deeply concerned that the highest institution in our nation has used this kind of language to portray some as abstractions and less than or other than human. We are deeply concerned it will give credence for Americans to disregard the well-being and dignity of immigrants regardless of their status.

As followers of Jesus, we believe every person is made in the image of God, regardless of their migration journey and whether they can remain in the country or not. As a coalition of national ministries and networks, we affirm that every person is worthy of dignity, compassion, and love. And as Americans, we believe in the constitutional responsibility to protect the rights and due process of all residents, including noncitizens. A pathway toward achieving a nation that is both strong in security and welcoming to the world must be void of language that objectifies.

At a moment when public rhetoric can subtly shape people into categories instead of neighbors, we believe the Church is called to embody a different imagination—the way of Jesus.

This is an opportune time to be reminded as Christian “friends on mission”, that we must never demonize the very ones we purport to want to reach with the gospel. And we must also remember that numbered among those vulnerable to immigration detention and deportation are some we would consider sisters and brothers in Christ. This is not so much a matter of policy for us as much as it is a discipleship and gospel issue.

We are grateful for organizations like the National Association of Evangelicals and World Relief that continue equipping churches to respond with biblical wisdom, compassion, and faithful presence during this critical moment. Their recent report Joined Together, Torn Apart offers a research-based analysis of how current immigration policies and proposed mass deportation efforts could separate more than 1.3 million U.S. citizens from spouses, children, or parents in the coming years.

Moreover, this comes on the cusp of June, the month globally dedicated to raising awareness regarding the plight of hundreds of millions of forcibly displaced people. June 20th is globally accepted as World Refugee Day, and we invite churches, disciple-makers, microchurches, and spiritual families to pray for displaced peoples around the world, to listen to their stories, and to consider practical ways to embody the welcome of Christ in their communities.

We encourage churches and leaders to engage the following resources throughout June: