Congress presses immigration officials for answers on tactics
Congressional representatives asked immigration officials for answers on policies and tactics.
Twenty years ago, Southern Baptist leaders like Richard Land set the tone for the denomination to adopt a compassionate, Biblical immigration policy that they considered not only moral and just, but also a wise move given the nation’s changing character.
Times have changed. Ruth Melkonian Huber, a political science professor at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., said major evangelical voices that were once silent and uncritical on the issue are now spouting harsh words and rhetoric.
As the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual convention draws to a close in Orlando, Melkonian-Hoover, co-author of “Evangelicals and Immigrants: The Fault Between Believers,” said the changes “should give everyone pause.”
The issue is just one in a lineup of SBC statements that representatives of the nation’s largest Protestant denominations are expected to consider Wednesday, but it’s just one of the most important. The proposed resolution draws a line between evangelicals who say border security is important but seeks to achieve it with compassion.
The resolution, titled “On Immigration, Human Dignity, and the Rule of Law,” acknowledges the need for strict immigration enforcement, “including deportation and expulsion of those who the government has formally prioritized for accountability for criminal activity, human trafficking, and illegal employment practices.”
The bill rejects amnesty and specifically omits any mention of a clear path to legal status for undocumented immigrants, a priority of previous SBC leaders.
At the same time, the resolution calls for humane immigration policies that uphold justice and mercy and strongly reject xenophobia, discrimination, and racial and ethnic hostility.
“We urge governments to insist on respecting the God-given worth and dignity of every person, and to give special consideration to children and families,” it reads.
On Tuesday, delegates from the annual conference, known as the Messengers, elected Willie Rice, senior pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Fla., as the Nashville-based congregation’s new president. Rice’s victory by a margin of 58% to 42% indicates that the SBC’s rightward shift is likely to continue.
Messengers also could face consideration of a constitutional amendment proposed by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler that would ban women from holding major church leadership roles within the denomination.
Changing views on immigration
A 2024 survey conducted by LifeWay Research found that evangelicals are increasingly concerned about immigration levels, but are committed to the Christian responsibility to care for those in the United States illegally and support policies that allow them to pursue legal residency.
“Many evangelicals believe there are economic challenges associated with immigration and also see the arrival of immigrants as a missionary opportunity,” Matthew Soerens, national director of the Evangelical Immigration Table, told Baptist Press at the time.
A report released last month by World Relief and the National Association of Evangelicals estimates that if the current administration’s immigration policies continue, more than 1.3 million spouses and children will be separated from their families.
“This is the equivalent of every spouse being separated from their partner and every child being separated from their parents in moderate-sized states like South Carolina and Kentucky,” the report said.
Trump supporters within the Southern Baptist Convention, particularly the Center for Baptist Leadership, a nonprofit headed by William Wolf, a self-described Christian nationalist, have advocated a tough stance on immigration.
The events of the past year, particularly the aggressive deportation campaign conducted by ICE, may have reshaped views within the SBC.
But anti-ICE efforts also faced backlash from evangelicals after protesters disrupted a service at the Southern Baptist Congregational Cities Church in St. Paul on Jan. 18, claiming that the Rev. David Easterwood was acting director of the city’s ICE field office.
Nine people were initially arrested, including former CNN anchor Don Lemon, and 30 more people have since been indicted on federal charges related to the incident. St. Paul City Attorney Eileen Cao announced on June 3 that she would not pursue state charges in the case.
Melkonian-Hoover said it was “frustrating” that the SBC’s immigration resolution did not include any mention of a path to legal residence, given that the denomination has historically supported such programs as part of comprehensive immigration reform efforts.
That’s why she was pleased to discover that this statement connects to the Christian belief that humans are created in the image of God. As such, they are expected to “exhibit justice, mercy, hospitality and love towards the weak and strangers” and affirm “the worth and dignity of all people, regardless of their ethnicity or national origin,” the statement said.
“That was great to see,” she said, along with the defense of human enforcement and the condemnation of nativism. “What happened with ICE gave people pause. People were saying, ‘This is not why I voted for Trump.’ So for a lot of people, this is the time to talk.”
