This month marks over 160 days since President Donald Trump signed an executive order suspending refugee resettlement for a 90-day program review. Since then, hundreds of refugee families have remained stuck in limbo. Faith communities are calling attention to this broken promise from the US government — and sounding the alarm about the risks of supercharging the detention and deportation of other immigrants back to humanitarian crises, which the “Big, Beautiful” budget reconciliation bill will facilitate, despite Sen. Thom Tillis’ principled opposition.
Trump’s inauguration-day order, “Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program,” canceled the flights of hundreds of families who had received an invitation from the US government to build a new life here. These were families who had undergone extensive background checks by both the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the US government, and in some cases, had already been assigned to resettlement agencies.
Many were persecuted for their faith: roughly 30,000 Christian refugees were resettled last year from the countries where persecution watchdog group Open Doors says that Christians face the most severe persecution. Others fled persecution on account of their peaceful opposition to corrupt, Marxist governments in countries like Venezuela and Cuba. Refugees from these countries were, until recently, welcomed into the US as a symbol of freedom and a haven from dictatorship. Others were welcomed for their service to the US military in Afghanistan or Iraq. Then, in an instant, their lives were uprooted once again.
More than five months later, resettlement agencies are still awaiting the results of this review, which will determine whether the US will restart the resettlement program, after more than 40 years of bipartisan support, and reopen its doors to those who are fleeing persecution. In the meantime, refugee resettlement agencies like World Relief Durham are advocating for the reinstatement of the program and have seen a tremendous outpouring of support from their local community and churches like mine.
While those already resettled as refugees should theoretically be safe, other extremely vulnerable immigrants who entered lawfully with humanitarian parole, from countries such as Haiti, Venezuela and Afghanistan, have now been threatened with deportation — even in situations when that would mean likely martyrdom for their Christian faith.
And despite Tillis’ no-vote, for which I and many North Carolinian Christians are grateful, a budget reconciliation bill that increases immigrant detention funding from $3.4 billion to $45 billion seems to be moving forward, dramatically increasing the funding for detaining and deporting immigrants like these recently de-documented Cubans, Venezuelans, and Afghans. For decades, these refugees have made significant contributions to American life by building businesses, contributing to the economy, and enriching our culture, reminding us that welcoming the persecuted strengthens rather than threatens our nation.
Churches in Durham are concerned about the plight of refugees and vulnerable immigrants of all kinds, conscious of our Christian witness. Ecumenical groups are gathering to educate ourselves. We are studying how other towns have responded to inform how our city might be more compassionate. We are listening to people tell stories of fear, need, and hope. Durham United Methodist Churches have hosted public prayer to lift our voices to God in lament. One church is housing a Haitian refugee, while another is providing furniture for a recently settled Afghan family.
The Bible is clear that we are called to be hospitable. Welcoming immigrants is part of the broader call that is consistent throughout the Bible “to love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39) and more specifically in Leviticus, where it says, “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God” (19:33-34).
Christians are doing just that. In a recent Christian Statement in favor of the continuation of the refugee resettlement program, over 20,000 signatures from Christians across the USwere collected in support of the cause, including mine.
The broad support of Christians across the nation cannot be understated. The call to welcome the foreigner is not contingent on political landscapes or borders but rooted in the unchanging nature of our beliefs.
With that, I urge our nation’s leaders to thoughtfully consider the moral and humanitarian importance of the refugee resettlement program and to take steps towards its reinstatement. Reopening this pathway will honor our values as a country and our responsibility to care for those in need. At the very least, we need to keep our promises to those who have gone through the proper steps and relocated from their home countries, not treat them like criminals.
