United Methodists Nationwide Gather in Omaha for GCORR Immigration Summit

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Great Plains Annual Conference | April 28, 2025

OMAHA – Eight weeks after members of the General Commission on Religion & Race received word during a meeting that the federal government was no longer considering churches as sanctuaries for undocumented immigrants, GCORR’s inaugural immigration summit took place at the Omaha Hilton. 

“We need to do something now,” rather than wait to organize a meeting that might have waited until the fall, said Rev. Dr. Giovanni Arroyo, GCORR general secretary. “We had to struggle to be a church that speaks in the middle of the turmoil.” 

With an invitation for two people from each episcopal area selected by their bishops, 140 people representing 44 of the 52 annual conferences in the United States as well as Puerto Rico participated. 

“We live in a nation where fear is manufactured and weaponized,” Arroyo said. “For many of us in this room, they are not theoretical debates; it is personal.” 

The name of Pope Francis, who had died the day before the start of the April 22-24 summit, was evoked several times by speakers. 

Like the story of Lazarus, Arroyo said, “We, too, risk being blind to our brothers and sisters in difficulty,” quoting the late pontiff. 

Omaha was chosen at the urging of Rev. Zach Anderson, treasurer of the GCORR board and Western Kansas District superintendent. 

“I recommended Omaha because of our history of working with immigrants and our churches here who have done a lot of work,” said Anderson, a GCORR board member since 2016 and a native of nearby Wahoo, Neb. 

Omaha’s work with Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement, or CIRA — part of the Immigrant Legal Center network — and the Eastern Nebraska District’s All People’s Pantry, a culturally inclusive food distribution that started at Omaha Hanscom Park UMC, were highlighted by Rev. Stephanie Ahlschwede, district superintendent, before leading a responsive reading. 

“We’re more diverse than a person might guess when you hear the word ‘Nebraska,’” she said. 

Great Plains Bishop David Wilson gave the opening sermon, as well as welcomed participants to Nebraska. 

“We’re not called for issues that just affect us directly,” he said, “but issues all around the world.” 

Danilo Zak, director of policy for Church World Service, said that immigrants, including 1.87 million on Temporary Protected Status and 611,000 considered Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, are in a “limbo-like status,” while U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, agents have become “increasingly indiscriminate.” 

“ICE,” however, is “a month away from running out of money,” he said. 

Rev. Jack Amick, director of global migration for the United Methodist Committee on Relief, or UMCOR, said both the uncertainty over immigration to the United States and a growing amount of migration unrest in Asia and Europe have made this a difficult time. 

“Sometimes it feels like we’re building a bridge by trying to throw pebbles in the ocean,” he said. 

Amick recommended that local churches apply for UMCOR’s Mustard Seed grants, meant to provide funding for those working with immigrants.   

“Be creative and get to know the people in your community,” he said. “Welcoming migrants is who we are. It is a practice of our faith. If we can’t help people, we can’t be the church.” 

Alba Jaramillo, co-executive director of the Immigration Law & Justice Network, told participants that their funding comes almost entirely from UMCOR. The network, which includes Omaha’s CIRA, has 19 sites across the country and serves more than 17,000 cases annually. 

“We are still inherently part of the (United) Methodist Church,” she said. 

She called the current immigration climate unprecedented. 

“What we’re seeing right now is a complete disruption of the immigration system,” she said. “I have a lot to say about ICE — but we’re in a holy space.” 

ICE, she said, has become “the largest criminal law enforcement agency in the entire world,” and as of this year are not required to wear uniforms or identification. 

“You don’t even know they’re ICE agents,” Jaramillo said. “Their cars are not marked.” 

ICE has a quota, she continued, of 1,500 migrants nationwide daily.  

“This is about all of our rights — and racial justice,” said Jaramillo, a Mexican immigrant. 

Jaramillo said about 1,300 college students with F1 visas have received notice to return to their homelands. 

Asylum seekers in the United States, she said, have received emails stating, “It’s time for you to abandon the United States legal system now.” 

Undocumented immigrants, especially where Jaramillo lives in Arizona, are so afraid of the system that they refuse to leave their homes, she said. 

“The more public a space looks the least protection you get,” she said.  

Immigration attorneys, she said, are “swamped in work.” 

“This is all by design,” Jaramillo said. “What is going to exist of our immigration system in the next four years? We have to fight back.” 

Practicing attorneys at the summit were brought on stage to be introduced and were blessed by Bishop Wilson. 

“Despite all that is going on,” he said, “we know what God can do and what God will do.” 

A panel discussion representing various ethnicities began to talk about work that everyone can do. 

“How can we disciple people to engage in conversation?” asked Rev. Dr. Lydia Munoz, executive director of The Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministry, a division of GCORR. 

Munoz explained that the chicken wire surrounding the altar table was a symbol of "the borders that tries to surround and put barriers to God unconditional love and welcome."

"It’s also a reference to Friendship Park on the border where faithful followers of Jesus on both sides of the border wall gather to celebrate communion every week," she explained. "On the final day, we draped the waters of baptism (symbolized by the blue cloth) that was in reference to how the waters of baptism breaks down the barriers as makes us citizens of the kin-dom of God."

In the sermon to conclude the summit, retired Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño said those in the denomination need to take action. 

“Are we United Methodists loving our neighbors with utmost care for the marginalized, the hungry, the thirsty, the ill, the imprisoned, the immigrant? Do we love them as we love ourselves? Or are we stuck in the polemic of arguing with Jesus about whether they are truly our neighbor, worthy of our love?” she asked. 

“Some days I truly worry about our UMC, because we all too often hide behind the rhetoric of whom we should serve and how we should serve them. There is merit in planning well. We do not want to cause harm to those who need our care, but we do want to love them with the heart of Jesus and love them actively and intentionally.” 

Before the closing sermon, attendees split into groups with their jurisdictions, tasked with developing action plans for the next year for their churches, communities and conferences, including methods of mutual accountability. 

Anderson led the breakout for the South Central Jurisdiction. He said he was pleased with the results of the summit. 

“People I’ve talked to have really appreciated getting tools to take back with them,” he said. “It further highlights the work of the connection and the general agencies to really focus on impact to local communities. Our churches can really be the first line of defense for people.” 

In an interview prior to the conclusion of the summit, Arroyo said “we have gone beyond what we imagined was possible.” 

“I think the last two days have demonstrated to us the movement of the spirit and the passion of the community to be responding to the current realities of immigration in our country,” he said. “The room is just a testament that there are people who are willing to step in and be in the forefront of guiding and advocating and teaching and being among our immigrants.” 

Each person who attended, he said, has made a commitment that they will host three “teaching moments” during the next 12 months, including Know Your Rights sessions. 

“The hope is that next year, the room of 130 people here will continue to grow and grow, where they’re out there to educate the community,” Arroyo said. 

See the Great Plains Conference website for a gallery of photos from the event.

David Burke is a content specialist for Great Plains Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.