World Relief Responds to Border and Immigration Enforcement Actions Previewed in President Trump’s Inaugural Address

Contact: wr@pinkston.co

(Baltimore, MD) January 20, 2025 – In his inaugural address today, President Donald Trump announced a series of actions impacting the dynamics at the U.S.-Mexico border and seeking to expand deportations of individuals already within the country, with executive orders expected to follow shortly.

Specifically, the president announced a “national emergency” and characterized the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border as an “invasion,” and under this justification announced his intention to utilize the U.S. military for expanded immigration enforcement purposes. He announced the re-introduction of the “Remain in Mexico” policy for those who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border seeking asylum under the terms of U.S. law. And the president also indicated his intention to carry out his campaign pledge to enact mass deportations.

Rooted in our biblical convictions, World Relief has long urged governmental attention to ensure secure, orderly borders, insisting that the United States can and must restrict the entry of unvetted individuals into the country, halt the entry of drugs and other illicit substances and ensure the orderly facilitation of legal crossings — all while treating all people humanely, respecting family unity and ensuring due process for those who profess a credible fear of persecution. World Relief affirms the responsibility of the federal government to humanely enforce immigration laws, including removing individuals found to have committed serious criminal offenses or to otherwise pose a credible threat to national security. 

However, we are concerned that the actions previewed today will go well beyond those goals and are likely to affect many immigrant families who have resided for many years without having been convicted of any crime. If the administration seeks to expand deportations as widely as within their legal authority, between 4 and 5 million parents of minor U.S. citizen children could face deportation, a reality that evangelical pastors and leaders across the country decried in a pre-election letter to President Trump as “family separation at an unconscionable scale.” As noted in that letter, a 2024 study by Lifeway Research found that 91 percent of evangelical Christians believe that U.S. immigration policy should protect the unity of the immediate family. 

“As Christians who believe that God established the family at the beginning of creation, we cannot sit silently as policies are proposed that would entail family separation on a horrifying scale,” said World Relief president and CEO Myal Greene. “We urge the administration to prioritize deportation of those with violent criminal convictions and to find more humane alternatives, such as working with Congress to create a restitution-based legalization process, for longstanding members of our churches and communities, including the many for whom deportation could mean separation from their U.S. citizen family members.”

World Relief is also concerned with the implications of the new policies announced related to the U.S.-Mexico border, including the characterization of the current situation as a “national emergency” and an “invasion.”

“As a fronteriza, a person whose familial bonds to the Southern borderlands span generations, I find the president’s characterization perplexing,” said Liliana Reza, World Relief’s Director of Border Engagement, who lives in San Diego, California. “In recent months, far fewer people have arrived than either a year ago or in the final months of the first Trump administration, and those who are arriving are largely coming with their hands out, seeking to avail themselves of the protections offered by U.S. law, not invading with violent intentions. We need orderly and secure ways that respect human dignity and due process for those fleeing from persecution. I’d invite anyone who has been misled into believing our border communities are dangerous to come see the reality for themselves.”

World Relief also reiterates its longstanding concerns with the “Remain in Mexico” policy. “The ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy, also known misleadingly as the ‘Migrant Protection Protocols,’ was an ineffective policy of the first Trump administration that undermined the principle of due process for those fleeing persecution, given that those forced to await legal proceedings in Mexico were sometimes not informed of their court dates and could almost never access U.S. legal counsel,” said Matthew Soerens, Vice President of Advocacy and Policy at World Relief. 

World Relief previously criticized a Biden administration policy, still in effect though facing ongoing legal challenges, that dramatically rolled back due process for asylum seekers who arrive at the U.S.-Mexico border. World Relief has praised bipartisan efforts such as the Dignity Act, which would reform asylum processing and dramatically increase funding for border security and management while protecting due process for those fleeing a well-founded fear of persecution. 

“The United States government has an obligation to protect its citizens, which is why we have always affirmed the need for secure borders, keeping out anyone seeking to do harm, but we also have a moral and legal obligation to offer protection to those fleeing from persecution,” said Aerlande Wontamo, World Relief’s Senior Vice President of U.S. Programs. “We believe our country can and must do better.”

World Relief encourages any individuals concerned with the impacts of today’s announcements or other executive actions on themselves or their families to consult with an immigration attorney or a non-profit organization recognized by the U.S. Department of Justice to provide legal assistance on immigration matters, including many World Relief offices and local churches affiliated with World Relief. 
In the hours, days and weeks to come, World Relief will be monitoring additional executive actions likely to impact the communities that we serve both in the United States and internationally, including any policies related to the U.S. refugee resettlement program.