It’s headline news this month. The governor of Florida arranged to fly 50 recently arrived migrants from Texas to Massachusetts. Prior to this, Arizona and Texas have arranged multiple transports of migrants to Washington D.C. and New York City. They claim to simply be calling attention to a migration crisis along the US southern border.

Framing the Crisis

It’s true that the US is seeing a record number of people crossing its border with Mexico without permission. Some people frame the situation saying that the US border states are caught up in a migrant crisis. Others point out that it is the women, children, and men making the dangerous and uncertain trek to the US that are in crisis.

Where do these people come from?

While some people migrate in hope of escaping poverty, it is important to remember that we live in a world in which 100 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to war, persecution, and gross violations of human rights. Nearly 38 million of them have fled not only their homes, but also their homelands. While the vast majority seek refuge in neighboring countries, it is no surprise that some try to seek refuge in countries like the US. We know they do because our Jonathan House ministry in the Twin Cities has welcomed and hosted asylum seekers who came across that border.

So, who is in crisis?

The US would do well to avoid giving in to the temptation of framing itself as a victim of a wave of human migration. If we are a victim of anything it is our inability to draft a coherent and humane immigration policy. The current situation offers the US an opportunity to embrace the challenge and increase its role in being a refuge for people who desperately need it. Churches in the US should be leading a movement to make that a reality.

As the Body of Christ, the Church is to be the physical representation of Jesus Christ in the world. And as such our preoccupation is to be about reflecting the image of Jesus to people - including refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants along the US southern border. This must be our primary concern and not the fears of Caesar.

Determined to show up along the border in life-giving ways

Jesus called us to love God and our neighbor. The Good Samaritan is our example of what that looks like. That’s why IAFR’s Jake Tornga took an extensive research trip along the border from California to Texas in August. Jake was encouraged to see how some churches were already doing what they can to welcome and help vulnerable people along the border. But there are gaps. We are in the early stages of figuring out how IAFR can best show up there.

IAFR is looking for a leader.

We could begin work today if we had a leader and the resources needed to start. Please pray with us for God to call someone to pioneer IAFR ministry in this region.

Interested? Let’s talk! CLICK HERE to email us and start the conversation.

If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.

Isaiah 58:10-11