For the record let me start by saying if actual admissible evidence can be shown to a judge that a person is a criminal, you know, actually dangerous to others and isn’t a U.S. citizen I’ve got no problem with deporting them. There are laws and procedures, and part of the reason we have (or in theory do) ‘Due Process” is to make sure it’s actual criminals. And also address the issue of whether NON-VIOLENT (i.e. busted for possession of say marijuana) should be deported. Having said that a concern is being raised about good old Christians with no criminal history or at most minor offenses being subject to be rounded up and deported – as many as ten million. (If not more) That is all of a sudden raising concerns, especially with this administration heading not just into schools but CHURCHES to seek out people.
That’s an awful lot of people, including green card holders who have been here a long time. Living their lives, going to work and paying taxes, contributing to their communities and yes, CHURCHES. Christian churches! That’s not going to go over so well with a lot of folks who have been key to Trump’s support. But those are the facts we, or rather Christians including Trump supporting ones have to face according to this article from Christian Daily International. It’s worth the time to read – an eye opener because even ‘Evangelicals’ are at risk. For things like simply being related to someone who is undocumented, especially if that person lives with them or a relative!
Let me backtrack. The linked articles source is a report titled One Part of the Body: The Potential Impact of Deportations on American Christian Families. The coalition that produced it included The Center for the Study of Global Christianity, the National Association of Evangelicals, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Migration and Refugee Services, and World Relief. In other words this isn’t some off-the-cuff thing. Their work highlights something from a chapter in the New Testament. Remember Trump and his “Two Corinthians” where he seemed to think it was a couple of guys who like Jesus? Well Trumpty this report cites 1 Corinthian(s) to put it in terms you’d get:
The report highlights that the Bible teaches that there is one body of Christ, which is “not made up of one part but of many,” (1 Corinthians 12:13-14) and “If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it” (verse 26).
They go on to note that many immigrants that are “integral parts” of American churches are subject to deportation whether they have legal status or not. Basically the report says under Trump’s deportation policy millions are at risk:
“Among these categories of individuals who are at risk of deportation — should any administration seek to deport as many individuals as legally within their authority without any change to U.S. law — are many Christians, given that Christianity is, by far, the religion of the large majority of those in these categories,” write the report’s authors.
“We estimate that, as of the end of 2024, there were more than 10 million Christian immigrants present in the United States who are vulnerable to deportation, including those with no legal status, as well as those with a temporary status or protections that could be withdrawn.”
I must again point out the report speaks of what even those with legal status now face. From (the seemingly now forgotten) ‘Dreamers’ brought here as children even before they were old enough for kindergarten, to the spouses and children who are here legally or even U.S. citizens of undocumented people it’s all up for grabs now. (And we all know a big point of all this is the CRUELTY of the policy!) It should also be noted while the focus is on how Christians are impacted by Trump’s cruel deportation policy that non-Christians are also affected and must be taken into account when addressing this issue – that all are created in the image of God and have “inherent dignity.”
As anyone reading this knows entire families suffer because they face difficult, and again I say intentionally cruel choices. I never had children but I know it has to be gut-wrenching to have families torn apart this way, to have to make the choice of some accepting deportation with others being left behind. For now. If Trump and his minions have their way I believe they’ll try to deport anyone who is related to someone they deport. And then anyone who has known them. Including employers, advocates and even their PREACHERS. No, I don’t think they will get away with such breathtaking level of deportation but they will sure as hell try! Just to be cruel. Vindictive. To make themselves feel ‘superior.’
In any case the report says 8% of Christians in the U.S. are at risk of deportation. That might not seem like such a big deal but it actually is – and I’m freaking agnostic! Have been for decades in fact. However the vast majority of people in this country are of the Christian faith so eight percent is a very large number of people indeed. And the data breaks down even more specifically:
“That’s one out of every 12 Christians in the U.S. — including one out of 18 evangelical Christians and nearly one out of five Catholics — that are vulnerable to deportation or could lose at least one family member if the United States government were to deport all of those vulnerable to deportation without any change in law,” the report adds.
“That’s because the vast majority of individuals at risk of deportation are Christians: 80 percent of all of those at risk of deportation are Christians. Sixty-one percent of those at risk of deportation are Catholic, 13 percent are evangelical and 7 percent are adherents to other Christian traditions.”
Granted, the ratio with Evangelicals puts a lot fewer of them at risk but it’s still worth keeping an eye on. Evangelicals are the core of Trump “Christian” support and there was a big shift his way in the last election with the very population now at risk. Put bluntly a lot of the “legals” got all uppity on their high-horses over “those people” by whom they meant any undocumented folks they didn’t know or weren’t related to. Just like white folks in rural/small town “REAL Murica” suddenly realizing Trump’s policies are going to whack THEM upside the head instead of only “those (non-whites, and liberals) people. Plus, if data is to be believed younger Evangelicals are a little more tolerant than those in their thirties and older.
This likely won’t be talked about in the news we see and read beyond a brief mention, if that. However in Christian circles/publications it will get some notice. One can hope it will generate heartfelt discussion, with some pointed reminders of the immigration status of their Jesus and his relatives!
****** Zoomers, if you can spare a donation, it will keep us trekking through cyberspace from planet to planet and psychotic news story to psychotic news story. We just need a little green energy to keep going on our (now) nine year mission and who knows how long it will take to get rid of Trump? Thanks. Ursula ******
it won’t matter to the evangelicals the majority if whom are vehemently opposed to the teachings of christ. in the old days (60s 70s) it would have mattered very much to the catholics, I don’t know about now. I’ve been irretrievably lapsed for 45 years and haven’t kept up. as you said, the cruelty is the point.
93% of Haitians are Christian. Just saying. Latino’s are majority Catholic. I’m getting to a point of explosion. My family is now being impacted through social security cuts to my disabled daughter’s SS. We won’t be deported – no where to send us and we’re white. Having said that – the whole effing country is going to be impacted the more they cut and the more they deport.
Anyone who voted for this child destroying evil man after watching him in action for a decade IS NOT A DISCIPLE OF JESUS. Anyone can claim any damn thing…doesn’t make it true. Jesus, as reported in the gospels, clearly indicated religious hypocrites are not following any of the old,(and after the gospels came out, the new testament),commandments. We, as a country, and, many as individuals, have abandoned Jesus’s teachings, NO MATTER WHAT IS CLAIMED. We’re so stupidly shallow in this country, we hear ‘christian’ and think that relieves us of all responsibility to pursue the truth and to follow the golden rule. That’s the opposite of the portrait of Jesus in the gospels. He reportedly claimed ONLY by following his commandments would anyone be considered his disciple. ‘Actions speak louder than words’ remains true, especially now that the country is full of pissants who can’t think for themselves, and apparently believe any goddamn thing they see on the internet. Christians? A freaking bad joke.
When these FAUX Christians spout their bullshit of “prosperity gospel” or that the poor and marginalized need to “lift themselves up by their own bootstraps” (which of course is physically impossible!) there’s always a simple response: In Matthew 25:40 JESUS says ‘What you do for the least of these, you do for me.’ If these assholes try to dissemble remind them of other places in the scripture they say they revere both Jesus and his disciples/apostles give plenty of other lessons on our obligation to help the less fortunate.
The study also notes another seven million U.S. citizens live in households where loved ones face deportation. It’s wild when you consider most of these congregants aren’t fringe activists but hardworking, churchgoing families.
What’s even more jarring is the irony: many of these same Christians delivered solid majorities for Trump in 2016 and 2024, yet they’re on the chopping block. The findings pull from FWD.us’s undocumented population estimate, Pew Research’s religious affiliation data, and the World Christian Database—so it’s not some fly-by-night claim. Walter Kim and Bishop Mark Seitz warn this would amount to a “church-decline strategy” if enacted and urge believers to speak out.
How many friends and neighbors have been quietly living in fear, balancing Sunday services and visa interviews? Talking about “law and order” is one thing, but when you start ripping families apart—kids missing from school, grandparents sent back to danger—it crosses a moral line. I hope this report sparks real pushback from believers of every background before it’s too late.