There are plenty of religious leaders trying to show the president and the rest of the federal government what our refugee and immigration policies should look like.
In Chicago, you have progressives like Rev. Emma Lozano and Rev. Walter Coleman of Lincoln United Methodist Church in the Pilsen neighborhood. Lozano has been advocating for immigrants for decades.
Last weekend, in an act of intimidation, four men in “Make America Great Again” gear, and led by conservative talk-show host Ben Bergquam, showed up at the church because of its support for immigrants. In a video posted to Facebook, Bergquam said he wanted to “expose the radical left” that is “helping the invasion of our country down on the southern border.”
Bergquam heads the organization Frontline America, which promotes on its Facebook page the phrase “One Nation Under God” and says part of its mission involves “mobilizing the Christian conservative remnant to rise.”
Instead of spreading fear of immigrants, he should consider this: Many religious leaders across America are on the same page when it comes to human rights and compassion for immigrants and refugees.
Pastor Eric Costanzo of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is among them. In response to news that the Trump administration is considering shutting down refugee admissions to the U.S., Costanzo, a pastor at South Tulsa Baptist Church, urged Christians and lawmakers to advocate for refugees. His essay was published by The Christian Post last weekend.
“If we as Christians truly claim to stand united as defenders of the sanctity of all human life as ordained by God, we must be paying attention,” the pastor wrote. “Right now, significantly vulnerable lives are at stake.”
Costanzo’s words are similar to what I was taught growing up in the Catholic Church. That’s why verses like these resonate with me: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Matthew 25:35
The Bible provides a roadmap for many Catholics and other Christians on immigration and asylum, but apparently not for a large number of evangelicals who believe the U.S. does not have a responsibility to take in refugees. Evangelicals who are close to Trump, such as megachurch pastor Paula White of Florida, come across as supportive, if not enthusiastic, of anti-immigrant policies and refugee bans.
As long as evangelicals hang on to their megaphones, everyone else gets drowned out. Five Episcopal bishops traveled to Capitol Hill earlier this week to meet with senators and House representatives from both parties to urge them to keep the U.S. refugee resettlement program. Trump slashed the program Thursday. The administration announced it would allow 18,000 refugees for the next year, down from the current 30,000. In stark contrast, in Barack Obama’s final year as president, the U.S. took in 110,000 refugees.
The Catholic Church likely would have more influence if it hadn’t covered up and enabled rampant child sexual abuse. Its reputation and membership numbers aren’t what they used to be.
The Chicago Archdiocese does an admirable job locally with immigrant and refugee outreach. And that’s not a small thing. I’ve seen it up close in neighborhoods and at a detention center. The support is critical to people in crisis.
At local levels, “religious leadership is going to knit the country back together,” Ali Noorani, executive director of the non-partisan National Immigration Forum, told me. There are more pastors than we realize who are like Eric Costanzo of Tulsa, who busily addresses questions and fears about foreigners in their conservative communities, Noorani added.
“They articulate that we can be a nation of grace and a nation of laws,” he said.
If only they had a megaphone.
Marlen Garcia is a member of the Sun-Times Editorial Board.
