Sarah Einselen is an award-winning writer and editor based in North Texas. Follow her on Bluesky at saraheinselen.bsky.social.
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Trump May Allow ICE Arrests in Churches; Here’s What We Know
A person is arrested, briefly detained, and subsequently released after a group of protestors block the entrance to the lobby of the Center City office of Sen. Bob Casey, in Philadelphia, on Oct. 10, 2018. The group gathers in support of undocumented immigrant Carmela Apolonio Hernandez and daughter Keyri Artillero Apolonio, 14, after they left their sanctuary church to occupy the Senators office. Photo by Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via Reuters.
After news broke Wednesday that President-elect Donald Trump planned to nix a policy discouraging immigration arrests in places like churches and schools, Indiana pastor Zach Szmara fielded questions from churches across the country about how to prepare.
DeSantis Sent Migrants to Martha’s Vineyard, Churches Welcomed Them
Venezuelan migrants stand outside St. Andrew’s Church in Edgartown, Massachusetts, Sept. 14, 2022. Ray Ewing/Vineyard Gazette via Reuters.
When about 50 people found themselves stranded last week on Martha’s Vineyard, the island’s nonprofit social services agency called on local churches to help. “We rallied and did what any decent human being would do if strangers showed up,” local pastor Rev. Charlotte Wright told Sojourners this week.
Faith Coalitions Are Preparing for Immigrant Advocacy Beyond Title 42
Asylum-seeking migrants are detained by a U.S. Border Patrol agent after crossing the Rio Bravo river to turn themselves in to request asylum in El Paso, Texas, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on March 30, 2022. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez
The Biden administration is fighting a legal battle to end the use of Title 42, a policy that has effectively closed the U.S. Southern Border to asylum-seekers for more than two years. Numerous faith-based organizations that work with immigrants have called on the administration to return to pre-pandemic asylum processing.
Will U.S. Support for Ukrainian Refugees Last?
Ukrainian refugees arrive in Medyka, southeastern Poland, amid a snowfall on March 9, 2022. Kunihiko Miura/The Yomiuri Shimbun via Reuters.
“What is troubling to me, and unsettling, is the fact that this sort of worldwide outpouring of empathy isn't there in other situations that are very similar,” Karen González, an author and immigrant advocate, told Sojourners.
‘An Attempt To Stop Us’ From Doing God's Work
Photo Courtesy FRACEEV.
One measure, an executive order from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, jeopardizes foster care licenses for anyone who takes in unaccompanied immigrant children who arrive in the country without authorization. The other, a bill being fast-tracked through the state legislature, would bar state and local governments from contracting with businesses that knowingly transport undocumented immigrants, including bus companies or airlines.