WASHINGTON, DC – Faith leaders on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border are outraged that the U.S. government continues to dismantle asylum protections, and deliberately force asylum-seekers to live in squalid, dangerous conditions through the so-called “Remain in Mexico” program.
Today, the House Homeland Security Committee, Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations holds a hearing to examine this failed policy. Interfaith Immigration Coalition members offer the following assessments based on their real-life experiences assisting asylum-seekers in ways that our government will not.
“The relentless policy attacks on asylum in this country are unprecedented,” said Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, President & CEO of Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS). “We cannot stand by while children and adults are trapped in extremely dangerous conditions awaiting their day in court. That’s why LIRS is proud to add our voice to the chorus of calls to #SaveAsylum and end Remain in Mexico.”
AFSC, a 102 years old Quaker organization that defends the rights of migrants and works against the militarization of border communities by organizing for just and humane immigration policies on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border, in Central America and across the world, spoke out against ongoing attacks on asylum.
“The Trump administration purposefully implemented a flawed program known as Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) to undermine migrants’ rights when seeking asylum in the United States. This is in violation of its international obligations to protecting and safeguarding vulnerable migrants, who are now forced to desperately wait for months in Mexico, under life-threatening situations, because Mexico also fails to meet their humanitarian needs. Instead of endangering our communities with illegal and inhumane policies, U.S. authorities should concentrate their resources on expediting asylum requests and safeguarding human rights.” said Pedro Rios, director of AFSC’s U.S.-Mexico Border Program in San Diego.
“As people of faith, we affirm the inherent dignity of every person and the ability to seek security and safety,” said Becca Eastwood, Advocacy Coordinator, Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach. “It is not a crime to seek asylum. The ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy operates in direct contradiction to these moral and legal standards. It not only endangers the lives of asylum seekers but also the credibility of our asylum system itself. As Columbans provide support and humanitarian services to asylum seekers subjected to ‘Remain in Mexico,’ we see its detrimental and dangerous effects. We believe this policy must end immediately and call on Congress to defund its implementation.”
Marge Roberson, First Congregational Church Natick, United Church of Christ in Natick, MA, a UCC church that has worked with accompanying and welcoming asylum seekers, said: “People need a safe place to be, and it’s our responsibility to offer them kindness and safety and a home where they feel welcome. People are coming here because they need somewhere safe to be. Welcoming the stranger, taking care of people and helping others – if that’s not what being a Christian is about then I don’t want to be a Christian anymore. If you follow the example of Christ, it’s an example of taking people in and caring for them, so as a Christian, I have to do that.”
Patrick Carolan, executive director of Franciscan Action Network, added: “Until recently, the U.S. was seen as a beacon of hope for people seeking safety from violence, death threats, and persecution in their own countries, but this administration cruelly shreds our asylum policy. Rather than honor their right to due process and having their cases heard, thousands of asylum seekers from Central America are turned back to Mexico where women and children are especially vulnerable to kidnapping, gang recruitment, and sexual or physical abuse. This is not the kind of country that our faith and U.S. American values challenge us to be. We Franciscans are ashamed of and angered by the Remain in Mexico policy.”
Jesuit Refugee Service stated: “JRS Mexico is accompanying some of these asylum seekers, many of whom are forced to live in dangerous and uncertain circumstances, making sure they have a place to stay, enough food to eat, and enough money to take a bus back to the U.S. border for their court date.”
In an op-ed at the Albuquerque Journal, Karla Molinar-Arvizo of Friends Committee On National Legislation urged Congress to keep the Trump administration from putting refugees in harm’s way, and “put our tax dollars where our values are.” She wrote:
Congress must cease funding the machinery behind these injustices. They must prohibit President Trump from spending unauthorized tax dollars to keep migrants in Mexico or caged while they scramble to build their legal case. Our tax dollars should bolster border communities like Deming that are helping people to safely access their legal right to seek asylum. Congress should focus on reimbursing localities for shelter support, legal services and basic needs. They should be funding more judges to hear cases in real courts and fewer detention beds for refugees to suffer in.
As a 73-year old humanitarian organization representing 37 Protestant, Anglican, and Orthodox communions and 24 refugee resettlement offices across 17 states, Church World Service (CWS) urged Congress to defund the administration’s deadly Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) policy, which violates U.S. and international legal and moral obligations. “All people have a legal right to seek protection where they feel safe and to condemn the administration’s latest anti-asylum policies that are immoral, illegal, and cruel,” the organization stated.
Additional Resources:
- Take the quiz: How much do you know about asylum seekers? (LIRS)
- Learn the basics: What is “Remain in Mexico”; why is it dangerous; what can we do about it? (CCAO)
- Act, with the Jesuit Refugee Service’s call to action
- Learn about the legal right to request asylum and how people across the United States are responding with compassionate action (UUSC)
- Read about how churches in Maine are welcoming asylum seekers from Africa (UCC)
- View extensive resources, including a report documenting the experiences of migrants, returned to Mexico under this policy, at www.afsc.org/saveasylum (AFSC)
- Find out how the federal appropriations process impacts immigration policy, and how to advocate for spending that reflects our values (CCAO)
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of 53 national, faith-based organizations brought together across many theological traditions with a common call to seek just policies that lift up the God-given dignity of every individual. In partnership, we work to protect the rights, dignity, and safety of all refugees and migrants.
Follow us on Twitter @interfaithimm
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