Tag: asylum

Relief (and Grief)

~ Bruce Ray ~ Leave a comment

Who belongs and who doesn’t? Who is a citizen and who is “alien”?

Steven Miller, advisor to the President and architect of the plan to deport millions of people out of the United States, and the Heritage Foundation (Project 2025) would have us believe that being born on US soil should NOT confer automatic citizenship. But today, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of birthright citizenship! Those born in the US are “US citizens” without regard to the status of the parents.

I’m breathing a sigh of relief! “Thank you, God!” Any other decision would have put millions of people (including scores of people in my circle) at risk of being stripped of their citizenship and potentially deported — which is Steven Miller’s ultimate goal.

At the same time that I’m relieved, I also am grieved. Last week, the same Supreme Court stripped Haitians and Syrians of their Temporary Protected Status despite dangerous conditions in their home countries, and it permitted the administration to continue the practice of turning away asylum seekers at the US – Mexico border before they set foot on US soil, thereby forcing them to remain in Mexico without a clear pathway to asylum.

As I recall, God’s instructions to the Israelites in the Torah were this: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” (Leviticus 19:34 – NIV) and Jesus announced blessing on those who welcomed the stranger. (Matthew 25:35)

The question of belonging and who is an American citizen has only been partially answered. If you’re born on US soil, the answer is, “you are.” But if you came into the country without documentation, or you came seeking asylum, or you arrived in this country as a child, or you were given temporary permission to come, you are and will remain an alien, vulnerable to the whims of people like Steven Miller, J.D. Vance, Mike Johnson, and Supreme Court Justices Alito, Thomas and Gorsuch who voted to end birthright citizenship..

ATTENTION: ALL BIRTHRIGHT AND NATURALIZED CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES. There are only 125 days until November 3. Exercise your citizenship wisely.

David, the Asylum Seeker

~ Bruce Ray ~ Leave a comment

As a political rival to King Saul, David had a target on his back. Saul and his army had been attempting to find him and kill him again and again without success. Knowing his life was in danger, he considered his options. 1 Samuel 27:1 records his decision.

“David kept thinking to himself, ‘Someday Saul is going to get me. The best thing I can do is escape to the Philistines. Then Saul will stop hunting for me in Israelite territory, and I will finally be safe.'”

David took his 2 wives and a group of men and their families who were loyal to him and left Israel for the border of Gath. Achish, the King of Gath, gave David political asylum and even provided him the town of Ziklag as a home for him and his companions. David lived in Ziklag–safe from Saul–for a year and four months. When Saul learned that David was in Gath, he stopped searching for David.

The fear of political violence is real for many people, and that fear motivates them to seek asylum and safety. But will they be welcomed and protected? Or will they be turned away and returned to their home country? King Achish saw David’s plight and welcomed him. But what would have happened to David, his friends and their families if they had been turned away at the border? Remaining in Israel could have resulted in David’s death.

The United States government has–in the past–vetted asylum seekers after their arrival in the US. However, current policy does not allow people to apply for asylum at the border or ports of entry, and people seeking asylum must remain in Mexico–effectively condemning them to limbo. They become people without a country, without nationality, and without protection or any guarantee of security. As such, they are especially vulnerable to exploitation and harm.

Whether people are coming to the US because of political, religious or societal persecution, the decision to deny them asylum makes us complicit in their persecution. Turning them away or returning them to their unsafe home country places them in danger. Should they be killed, their blood is also on our hands.

Fortunately, God watched over David and his family during their time in Gath through the welcome of King Achish. When we welcome and watch over asylum seekers today, we are doing God’s will, acting on behalf of God, who is the protector of the foreigner. (Psalm 146:9)