Photo Courtesy of Office of Representative Phil Gingrey
Border Enforcement
Enforcement along the U.S.-Mexico border.
This week, it seems you can hardly listen to the news, pull up the CNN webpage, or open a (digital) copy of The New York Times without witnessing the humanitarian crisis of the sudden influx of unaccompanied immigrant children at the U.S.-Mexico border. Accordingly, it also seems you can’t open Facebook without receiving every friend, relative, and distant acquaintance’s opinion on the matter, many of which carry strong religious overtones. So, it is not surprising that someone asked me this week,
“Since you study theology, what would Jesus do in this situation?”
Wrapped up in this query is a whole slew of further questions. Does God want us to protect what is ours or are we to freely let everyone in? Would Jesus welcome all of the children – no questions asked – or reform immigration laws to keep this from happening again? What would Jesus do, indeed… I found myself wishing I could provide a clear-cut, easy answer, and goodness knows both sides of the issue believe they have Scripture on their side. As United Methodists, we also have the Social Principles to fall back on, which tell us in regard to immigration that we as a church:
…recognize, embrace, and affirm all persons, regardless of country of origin, as members of the family of God. We affirm the right of all persons to equal opportunities for employment, access to housing, health care, education, and freedom from social discrimination. We urge the Church and society to recognize the gifts, contributions, and struggles of those who are immigrants and to advocate for justice for all.
While this is a succinct statement of our stance as the UMC, these 66 words are wrapped in great complexity. If we affirm all persons as members of the family of God, then we cannot demonize or enemy-ize the faces of those children which arrive at the border tired, hungry, sick, and scared. They are part of us. They are no longer faceless strangers, but family and friends. At the same time, advocating for justice for all also means that we seek ways in which justice can be lived throughout the world, not just the United States. Thus, while we must deal with the crisis that is immediately in front of us, we must also ask the questions:
- What is happening in these countries that they are sending their children here?
- What has the United States done to encourage this to happen? Have U.S. policies encouraged violence abroad which resulted in this crisis?
- What can be done to help these children live in safety, either as asylum-seekers here or paving the way for safe streets back in their homelands?
- Is justice reserved for those who live in the boundaries of the United States of America, or are we as a church willing to work for justice across the globe?
The issues that have brought the children to the border and the government’s current immigration policies regarding unaccompanied minors attempting to immigrate are complex and defy simple solutions. Therefore, they also defy simple theologies. As I reflected on the question asked me this week, I arrived at the conclusion that the more appropriate question is What Is God Already Doing? In all honesty, I don’t fully know the answer to that question, but I’ve got my eyes and ears open waiting to find out. What I do know is that when I find the answer, I want my next question to be, What Can I Do to Help?
May we as disciples of Christ and members of the family of God across all times, nations, and nationalities be ready to enter into God’s saving and compassionate work not “for” or “on behalf of” but with our brothers and sisters whose very lives are threatened by human violence and corrupt systems, even as we confess our own complicity in allowing such injustice to go unchecked for so long.
Lisa Hancock graduated with a Master of Sacred Music before returning to Perkins School of Theology as a Master of Theological Studies candidate.Her areas of focus are multicultural worship, liturgy, disability theology, new monasticism, and a plethora of other things! She lives in an intentional community in Dallas with her husband Justin.