Oppose Deportation Policies That Separate Families

In 2018, when President Trump’s first administration enacted a “zero tolerance” policy that ultimately separated several thousand children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border, polls found that most evangelical Christians were opposed – and vocal opposition to this policy from evangelical Christians in particular, helped lead to its ultimate termination. Now, with the potential for family separation on a much larger scale, is another timely moment for Christians to speak up.

President-elect Trump has pledged to carry out “the largest deportation in U.S. history.” While he has largely emphasized the need to deport those convicted of violent crimes, the reality is that, if his administration seeks to deport as many individuals as the president-elect has cited, the vast majority of immigrants at risk of deportation would be individuals without any criminal conviction who have been present in the U.S. for at least a decade. He has also pledged to withdraw protections from certain immigrants who are currently in the country lawfully and initiate deportations. A deportation program of this scale would not only harm the economy but could jeopardize family unity, including for many of the 4 to 5 million U.S. citizen minors who have a parent who is undocumented.

The scale and speed of this mass deportation will be limited, however, by the amount of resources appropriated by the U.S. Congress, so now is an urgent time for Christians who prioritize family unity to reach out to their members of Congress, urging solutions that would improve border security and respect the rule of law but that would not separate families.