Washington, DC – Texas Governor Greg Abbott today signed an executive order falsely declaring an ‘invasion’ and calling on the Texas National Guard and law enforcement officials to unlawfully return people seeking asylum and other migrants to border ports of entry. This announcement comes less than two weeks after 53 immigrant lives were lost in San Antonio in one of the deadliest tragedies involving migrants in the United States.
Faith groups decry the cruelty and callousness of Governor Abbott’s order and the dangerous fear-mongering, xenophobic narrative it perpetuates. The multiple religious traditions represented in the Interfaith Immigration Coalition (IIC) warn against vilifying others, and instead call on people to practice welcome and hospitality with a non-judgmental spirit. To counter the hateful and dangerous rhetoric of today’s executive order, the IIC urges the Biden administration, Congress, and the state of Texas to restore welcome and support the fundamental human right to seek asylum.
“Governor Abbott’s latest attempt to take immigration enforcement into his own hands will not stop people from endangering themselves as they seek protection,” said Marisa Limón Garza, senior director for advocacy and programming, Hope Border Institute. “Instead, it will force them into the hands of smugglers. It will not increase safety at the southern border, it will create dangerous conditions for the most vulnerable among us seeking protection. Borderland communities have been welcoming migrants seeking refuge for generations and to treat those seeking aid as an invading force ignores the reality we witness daily.”
“Border communities are models of hospitality and creative cross-cultural encounters,” said Cynthia Gonzalez, Advocacy Coordinator for the Missionary Society of St. Columban. “Border communities witness firsthand the cry of our sisters and brothers desperately asking for protection and the opportunity to build a better life for their families. We consider it a blessing to welcome them. Governor Abbott’s plan to further militarize the border does not solve the root causes that force asylum seekers to reach our border in the first place. His plan only adds to the cruelty of our inhumane and militarized immigration system, which sows fear and distrust in our communities. Instead, we invite lawmakers and all people to come and see the reality beyond the rhetoric.”
“Migrants seeking shelter and safety at the border are not props for political stunts, and this escalation by the governor of Texas has the potential to be dangerous and deadly,” said Katie Adams, IIC Interim Chair and Domestic Policy Advocate for the United Church of Christ. “It’s troubling and telling that instead of devoting time, creative resources and thinking, the governor of Texas continues to double down on reckless and cruel handling of migrants and asylum seekers. Imagine instead a devotion of those same resources to a thoughtful welcome? Clearly it’s not an issue of time, funding, or resources; rather it’s a single minded pursuit of xenophobic white supremacist ideology. How do we break free of this? We pray that the governor of Texas has the scales ripped from his eyes—that like Saul on the road to Damascus, he sees what his veneration of white supremacy has wrought—and the many lives placed in peril because of it.”
“Governor Greg Abbott and I have one thing in common,” said Sister Marie Lucey OSF, Associate Director of Franciscan Action Network. “We are both Roman Catholics. I, and our Franciscan family, are appalled that a fellow Catholic speaks falsely and cruelly about ‘an invasion’ of migrants at the Texas border. His inhumane executive order, built on a falsehood, runs contrary to the position toward migrants of Pope Francis, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Franciscan Action Network, and the majority of people of faith, including Catholics. We pray not only for migrants seeking protection and safety in the United States, but also for a change of mind and heart for Governor Abbott of Texas.”
“In the wake of recent shootings inspired by White Supremacist ideologies, several Texas counties are acting in dangerous ways that encourage extremists to view people seeking asylum as an ‘invasion,’ which will only stoke fear and racism against immigrants,” said Rev. Noel Andersen, Church World Service Director of Organizing. ”Governor Abbott’s unlawful attempt to skirt the constitution by having state troopers return migrants is another morally reprehensible example of how politicians are trying to gin up their base through vilifying vulnerable populations fleeing life threatening circumstances. There is concern that these new atrocious policies are designed to make it to the Supreme Court to take advantage of the conservative court make up. We pray that Governor Abbott and Texas county elected officials might find a seed of compassion before they take such drastic actions that will create division and increased harm to already traumatized populations.”
The Interfaith Immigration Coalition is made up of over 55 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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