World Relief Affirms President Trump’s Call for Bipartisan Immigration Reforms

Evangelical Christian humanitarian organization urges congressional leaders to set aside partisan differences to prioritize family unity, targeted enforcement

Contact: Lauren Rasmussen, media@wr.org, 802.310.4255

BALTIMORE, Md. – Over the weekend, CBS News’ 60 Minutes aired an interview in which President Donald Trump expressed his desire to work with congressional Democrats to “do something on immigration.” He acknowledged his administration’s deportation policy during the first two years of his second term as “too tough” and voiced support for policies that would sustain secure borders and the removal of criminals but allow “some kind of legal status” for other categories of immigrants who are currently vulnerable to detention and deportation. 

World Relief affirms these comments from President Trump and urges him and congressional leaders in both parties, in the current and incoming Congress, to urgently work together to pass long overdue immigration reforms. 

For decades, World Relief, the global humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, has supported immigration reforms that would invest in border security, modernize legal immigration processes and allow immigrants unlawfully present in the country who do not have serious criminal convictions to make amends for their violation of immigration law through the payment of a fine and then earn permanent legal status.  

“We agree with President Trump that the deportation efforts of the past two years have gone too far. They have impacted many individuals who were lawfully present when the president took office and have left many U.S. citizen children and spouses as functional orphans and widows,” commented Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief. “We welcome the president’s comments and urge him and congressional leaders, in both parties, to work together in good faith to forge consensus policy reforms that could actually become law – as soon as possible, before more families are harmed.” 

Earlier this year, World Relief and the National Association of Evangelicals released a report, “Joined Together, Torn Apart,” warning that if the administration met its then-stated goal of deporting one million immigrants per year, the effect would be to separate 910,000 U.S. citizen minor children from one or both parents and 272,000 U.S. citizen spouses from their husbands or wives.  

“The dramatic shift in the Latino vote in last week’s midterm elections and the evidence that many evangelical voters sat the elections out, presumably dissatisfied with either of their options, speaks to the political unpopularity of family-separating mass deportation policies,” added Matthew Soerens, World Relief’s vice president for advocacy and policy. “I’m thankful to hear President Trump discuss alternatives; there are serious, bipartisan proposals that avoid the extremes of either mass deportation or amnesty, and I hope and pray the president will pursue them. We would be thrilled for President Trump to sign long-overdue legislation that Presidents Bush, Obama and Biden all tried but failed to do.” 

The sort of policies that the president described are very consistent with those supported by the supermajority of evangelical Christians. A 2025 Lifeway Research study of evangelical Christians found that 76% – including roughly two-thirds of those who voted for President Trump in 2026 – would “support changes to U.S. immigration laws that would both increase border security measures and establish a process so that those immigrants in the U.S. unlawfully could earn permanent legal status and eventually apply for citizenship if they pay a fine, pass a criminal background check, and complete other requirements during a probationary period.”  

A follow-up study from Lifeway Research earlier this year found even broader support from evangelical pastors, 82% of whom said they would support such policies. The study also found that such policies are supported by 83% of Mainline Protestant pastors.  

World Relief reminds immigrants who may ultimately be affected by such policy shifts that no changes have been made at this time and encourages them to consult with an experienced immigration attorney or with a non-profit organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice, including many local World Relief offices and affiliated churches.  

To advocate for immigration reforms, visit worldrelief.org/advocate.