Evangelical woman: New immigration bill will increase human trafficking risk
If we turn our backs on them, who will protect and care for the “least of these”?
This is the question our country should be asking itself when it comes to unaccompanied children at the border. But unfortunately, with the introduction of sweeping immigration legislation by the House Judiciary Committee last week, which intends to increase restrictions on asylum eligibility and expand detention of migrant families, our country could turn its back on countless children who need our help. We need increased border security, but this is not the way to get there.
After another year of record border crossings, deaths along the border, and communities experiencing an influx of migrants, it’s clear that our nation’s immigration system is not effectively serving our country or the migrants who seek refuge in our borders. Though this legislation was proposed as a solution to these ongoing border security challenges, it would not actually lead to greater order or compassion.
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Instead, this bill in its current form would introduce a new humanitarian crisis to our border and leave vulnerable individuals at an increased risk of human trafficking by nullifying key protections established in the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. This law, passed unanimously by the U.S. Senate and signed by President George W. Bush after extensive advocacy from evangelical Christians, established standards for compassionate treatment of unaccompanied children encountered at the US-Mexico border that have protected countless children from danger.
This proposed bill would not only remove anti-trafficking protections but would also forsake due process for individuals fleeing credible threats of religious persecution to seek asylum in the United States. Ultimately, this proposed border security bill would cause additional problems at the border and be counterproductive to efforts addressing the root causes of our nation’s broken immigration system. Just this week, I participated in a trip to the border and can attest firsthand to the reality that vulnerable migrants need our support — not additional restrictions.
Evangelicals around the country are concerned about the way this immigration plan would take our country backward in the fight against human trafficking. Recent polling conducted by Lifeway Research shows that conviction about the importance of caring for vulnerable migrants is only growing.
Over 90% of evangelicals want secure borders but are equally committed to policies that respect the God-given dignity of all people and protect family unity. As Christians and as a country, we should not be forced to choose between a policy that ensures secure borders or one that protects children from trafficking and other violence. We can and must do better. To our elected officials I say, bring us an immigration reform bill that does both.
Like other evangelical women, I am particularly passionate about the well-being of children and have joined in efforts to advocate for them. When our nation enacted “zero tolerance” policies in 2018 that separated children from their parents at the border, Christians were a leading voice denouncing this policy as unjust. In 2020, we spoke up again when administrative policies were effectively undermining this anti-trafficking law’s essential provisions to protect unaccompanied migrant children.
In addition to efforts on a national level, evangelical women around the country like me are taking action to ensure that our communities understand the perils of this proposed immigration plan and how to participate in the work of supporting children and other vulnerable immigrants. As of 2022, less than a third of Evangelicals have heard conversations about immigration within the Church.
Both through discipleship efforts in our local communities and through national advocacy, strong bipartisan and evangelical cooperation has historically resulted in Congressional action, including the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. This collaborative will to act must continue and drive Americans to advocate for our country to establish more protections for vulnerable children, not take them away.
It’s time for Congress to act to deliver real solutions for the border. It’s clear that this proposed immigration plan is not the answer. As Americans, we deserve a better solution that sets our country and the vulnerable children who depend upon us up for a safe and secure future.
Bri Stensrud is the Director of Women of Welcome.
