A few weeks ago my wife, Deborah and I took our daughter on her first trip to New York City to celebrate her tenth birthday. Though I’d been to the city many times before, almost every other trip was short and tied to work or another occasion. With more free time and my daughter in tow, I was determined to take a boat ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. I’m so very glad we did.

As the border deal fails to secure enough votes in Congress, attention has pivoted to push for the passage of H.R.2, the Secure the Border Act. However, a closer examination of the bill reveals alarming provisions that pose significant risks to the well-being and rights of migrant children –those they claim to protect.

Here's a breakdown of what is included in H.R.2:

Sojo Action, the advocacy division of Sojourners, invited Anyra Cano to join a group of Latino faith leaders for advocacy in Washington, D.C. early this week, to share about their immigrant communities. Anyra is the Fellowship Southwest director of programs and outreach and has organized dozens of trips for churches and individuals at the border this year, which are followed up by advocacy actions. One such recent advocacy activity was a Christmas postcard which children at two DFW churches colored and filled out to be delivered to Congress during this Sojo advocacy week.

On Nov. 30th, more than 600 migrants who are stranded in Matamoros, Mexico - just across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas - were given an orientation on U.S. immigration processes by Elket Rodriguez, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship U.S.-Mexico border field personnel, with the coordination of Pastor Eleuterio Gonzalez of Valle de Beraca Church.  

Más de 600 migrantes varados en Matamoros, México – justo al otro lado del Río Grande de Brownsville, Texas –fueron orientados el 30 de noviembre sobre los procesos migratorios en los Estados Unidos por el personal de campo del Compañerismo Bautista Cooperativo para la frontera entre México y Estados Unidos, Elket Rodríguez, con la asistencia del pastor Eleuterio González de l iglesia Valle de Beraca.

1,500 migrants crossing en masse in El Paso this week is an act of desperation by folks frustrated with a broken system. The U.S. immigration system is broken and overwhelmed, not unlike so many individuals seeking asylum here.

FSW Executive Director Stephen Reeves is in Washington, D.C. this week with Elket Rodríguez, Chrissy Tatum Williamson. Elket is a CBF field personnel and immigration specialist in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, and Chrissy is the pastor of Greystone Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC.

Evangelical Immigration Table invited advocates from all over the country to join together in an organized action week for immigration advocacy. They are asking Congress to pass long overdue immigration reforms to provide permanent solutions for Dreamers, TPS recipients, and agricultural workers, and work with administration officials to improve border management.

In Ciudad Juarez, on the banks of the Rio Grande River across El Paso, Texas, over 1,200 Venezuelan migrants are living in makeshift shelters, because of the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to authorize the rapid expulsion of Venezuelan migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border.

El presidente Biden convirtió en ley la semana pasada un proyecto de ley de inmigración respaldado por Fellowship Southwest, que brinda esperanza a las decenas de personales de campo o misioneros que trabajan directamente con inmigrantes y refugiados.

An immigration bill supported by Fellowship Southwest was signed this week by President Biden—giving hope to many who welcome and resettle immigrants and refugees.

The Biden administration has become addicted to Title 42 –the order that authorizes the rapid expulsion of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border due to the threat of COVID-19. And like all addictions, the real problems are avoided.

Have you seen the headlines that Biden is making DACA more permanent? This is something to celebrate! But it’s a bit more complicated than that.

Here’s the download, which I got from Elket Rodriguez, our immigration legal specialist.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments on Biden v. Texas next week, April 26. This video is a great explanation about what is at stake. Watch until the very end, and learn how this case could set a dangerous precedent for the relationship between a president and the courts.

Need us to back up a little?

MPP stands for Migrant Protection Protocol, a misnomer if there ever was one. It is commonly referred to as "Remain in Mexico." It is one of the two Trump-era immigration policies that Fellowship Southwest has been outspoken against, along with Title 42.

On April 1, 2022, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced the termination of Title 42 –the COVID-19 order that authorizes the rapid expulsion of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border– on May 23. The decision caused the COVID-19 relief deal to be blocked in the Senate and a bipartisan group of Senators to call for a delay in its ending. The CDC and Biden Administration made this decision despite that more than half of Americans agree with maintaining immigration restrictions at the border.

The images from Ukraine are horrific. The widespread destruction unseen in decades except for that caused by hurricanes or earthquakes. Many folks alive today have never witnessed war at quite this scale. The fact that it seems so unprovoked and unjust makes it even more shocking. The whim of an isolated madman.

The millions of people now fleeing the attacks is also a rare phenomenon …for Europeans.

All along the U.S.-Mexico border, the pastors who comprise Fellowship Southwest's Immigrant Relief Ministry are welcoming Ukrainian migrants.

In Tijuana, close to the Pacific Ocean, Pastor Juvenal González has fed dozens of Ukrainian migrants waiting on the Mexican side of the San Ysidro International bridge.

"There they are, there they eat, and there they sleep, before crossing the international bridge,” González said. "Ukrainians don't want to go to shelters in Mexico.”

Unnoticed by many due to the war in Ukraine is the silent and sinister war against migrant children. Leaders in Texas, Florida and Tennessee are politicizing the treatment, care, and protection of vulnerable migrant children.

In Texas, the Attorney General prevailed in court preventing the Biden administration from exempting migrant children from expulsion to Mexico under Title 42 –the policy that authorizes rapid expulsion of migrants at the border due to COVID-19 precautions. The result of this lawsuit would hand over unaccompanied migrant children to the dangers awaiting in México.

Title 42 – the policy that authorizes rapid expulsion of migrants at the border due to COVID-19 precautions– may have its days numbered.

The reduction in COVID cases has weakened the rationale for its implementation, and recent court rulings have questioned its reach. Recently, Fellowship Southwest, along with more than 300 immigrant, human rights and faith-based organizations sent a letter to the President demanding the end of this policy.

Mexico is in the process of implementing its own migrant protection protocol (MPP). But do not worry. This new plan has nothing in common with the recently relaunched U.S. policy, better known as “Remain in Mexico,” which does not actually protect migrants at all.

On the contrary, this MPP is an agreement between various churches, denominations, civil organizations and three levels of Mexican government to holistically address the needs of migrants in the state of Sonora, Mexico, across the border from Arizona.

The wall dividing the Biden administration from nongovernmental organizations that assist refugees on the U.S.-Mexico border is growing taller.