Immigration

This article is part of our ongoing series tracking the many changes in immigration legislation.  You can access the full series here.

7/6: ICE announced that international students on M-1 and F-1 visas in the U.S. will have to leave the country or risk deportation if their universities switch to online-only courses this fall, which many are doing because of COVID-19.

June 22-23, 2020 a group of pastors, missionaries, staff, lay leaders and invited guests from the Christian Reformed Church in North America and the Reformed Church in America met for a Journeys Into Friendship virtual consultation. During these two days together, we heard stories from those who have built intentional, authentic friendships with people in their communities. Friendships that bridge differences in race, religion and migration status. Friendships that have been a mutual blessing to both parties and a faithful response to following Christ.

Return to your rest, my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.  For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. - Psalm 116:7-9

I often joke about my “justice crushes” -- the people I spy on, or listen to, or read about, whose work helps to remind me of why I’m a Christian, why it’s worth it to keep caring, why it feels right and good and hopeful to stay engaged in this hard work.

Alexia Salvatierra tops my list of “justice crushes” for sure.

God of uncovered secrets, God of fearless truth: to have faith in your goodness is to trust that after all we would hide is revealed, and all of our whispers are heard, your undying love will remain, and your truth will stand unchanged. May we forgo our protection of self, and find life made whole in shalom. - Corrymeela

For a comprehensive list of all the immigration changes from Executive Orders issues during the coronavirus pandemic, see this list. 

6/1: The Supreme Court rules that immigrants who are at risk of being tortured upon deportation to their home country can challenge deportations in federal appeals court. 

As the world grapples with the global spread of the coronavirus, there’s been a lot of news and information to sift through to make sense of our new reality. In the United States in particular, we continue to hear a lot of blaming and negativity about immigrants as the country addresses the COVID-19 crisis. 

This article is part of our ongoing series tracking the many changes in immigration legislation.  You can access the full series here.

4/30: Federal judge orders ICE to release immigrant detainees from South Florida detention centers

Hear my prayer, Lord;  let my cry for help come to you.  Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress.  Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly. - Psalm 102:1-2

Bethany Christian Services

This week, Bethany Christian Services is asking for prayer after an increasing number of their clients who are essential workers are diagnosed with COVID-19.  Their work with refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers guides, advocates, and supports key settlement locations around the globe, including the U.S.

In the middle of a pandemic of their own, the characters in Albert Camus’ The Plague are weary. The quarantine, disease, and death are enough to exhaust anyone. But -- of course -- the painful things that existed before illness struck are also still present: broken relationships, aching memories, questions of meaning and suffering, and deep injustice.