Immigration

I am heartbroken, scared, angry, and confused.

1. Tell us a little about your family's immigration story.

The journey of my life began in 1985 when I left the Democratic Republic of the Congo. I woke up one morning and my parents said: we found a husband for you and you are going to get married. I was very young. Unwillingly, we moved to Burundi where my husband served at the embassy. When I left the Congo there was great political unrest and injustices occurring. People were being shot and killed.

So much of the conversation about immigration during this election season has not been based on facts or on the biblical value of philoxenia (love of the stranger, see Romans 12:13 or Hebrews 13:2). There has been much talk about immigrants—and not enough listening to immigrants themselves. The Blessing Not Burden campaign is part of changing that. 

So much of the conversation about immigration during this election season has not been based on facts or on the biblical value of philoxenia (love of the stranger, see Romans 12:13 or Hebrews 13:2). There has been much talk about immigrants—and not enough listening to immigrants themselves. The Blessing Not Burden campaign is part of changing that. 

So much of the conversation about immigration during this election season has not been based on facts or on the biblical value of philoxenia (love of the stranger, see Romans 12:13 or Hebrews 13:2). There has been much talk about immigrants—and not enough listening to immigrants themselves. The Blessing Not Burden campaign is part of changing that. 

Did you know that 70% of all US agricultural workers are undocumented? 1 in 15 children have at least one parent without legal status. In total, there are 11 million undocumented people in the United States. Polls demonstrate that over 50% of white evangelicals believe that immigrants are an economic drain and threat to American values.

August has arrived! If you’re a church leader, you may be looking for a curriculum for your small group, adult study classes, or youth group.

In the words of Pastor Christy Knetsch, whose congregation in Grand Rapids has recently used several of these curricula,

“The Christian Reformed Church is committed to equipping congregations. I am so glad that we have been able to utilize these resources so that we can ensure that not only the head, but heart and hands are empowered to promote justice in the square inches where God gives us influence.”  

Christy and Brad Knetsch, pastors of Madison Square CRC, delivered a sermon this past Sunday called “Testify: Immigrants Are a Blessing, Not a Burden”. We asked Christy a few questions about why they chose to preach on immigration—and to do an immigration action alert during the service!

Looking for summer beach reads? The staff of the Christian Reformed Centre for Public Dialogue and the Office of Social Justice have done the searching for you.

What do you, a Honduran citizen, think about US immigration? How does it impact your community? Your family? What would you want to tell people in the United States about immigration?