Fellowship Southwest and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship have joined a broad coalition of faith organizations and faith leaders who have urged the Biden Administration to hold U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers accountable for abusing Haitian migrants on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The coalition has asked the administration to pursue all possible procedures that would guarantee humanitarian protection for the Haitians.

Thousands of Haitian migrants are stranded in northern Mexico following the largest mass-expulsion of migrants by the U.S. government, in Del Rio, Texas.

Many of the deported Haitian migrants relocated to Matamoros, Mexico—across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas—waiting for a chance to enter the United States officially.

Change never stops on the U.S.-Mexico border. From a Haitian caravan encamping under a bridge, to a surge of unaccompanied migrant children, to the expulsion of asylum seekers, the border is the setting of hundreds of stories every week.

Every news outlet frames its narrative according to its perspective: Some depict the border as a war zone, where Customs and Border Protection officers clash with migrants. Others portray border dynamics as a humanitarian crisis. Many frame the border as a political challenge. A few claim the border is open, while others insist it is closed. Many Americans believe most migrants are criminals, while others think asylum seekers only desire safety from persecution.

How would you feel if someone you trust harmed you as badly or worse than someone who beat you? On an international level, that’s what the U.S. immigration policy known as Migrant Protection Protocols—or MPP, or “Remain in Mexico”—is all about.

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to block a district court decision ordering the Department of Homeland Security to reimplement MPP. Many faith-based and humanitarian organizations that work with migrants, including Fellowship Southwest, swiftly opposed the high court’s decision.

On Tuesday night, Aug. 24, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order that effectively reinstates the Migrant Protection Protocols, or MPP. Commonly referred to as the “remain in Mexico” policy, MPP is largely responsible (along with Title 42, which facilitates expulsion based on COVID fears) for migrants being forced to assemble at the U.S.-Mexico border to await their opportunity to make an asylum claim in court.

Misinformation creates mental barriers that affect the lives of many migrant families, immigration attorney Elket Rodríguez told more than 600 refugees stranded in Matamoros, Mexico, just across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas.

Cooperative Baptist leaders expressed disappointment after a Federal Court in Texas ruled that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) is illegal. The ruling prohibits the Department of Homeland Security from approving new DACA applications, but it does not bar new DACA applicants to submit their applications or affect the more than 700,000 recipients who already have applied successfully.

Goals most U.S. fathers take for granted—building a family and living in peace—seem like luxuries in Central America. And hopes of life free from the grasp of organized crime “gangs” feel more like fantasies than achievable dreams.

A path to citizenship for millions of immigrants living in the United States seems attainable. Their best avenue appears to be budget reconciliation—the process the U.S. Senate implements to bypass the filibuster and to fast-track consideration of the nation’s budget, according to panelists in a recent webinar.

Decenas de líderes cristianos hispanos de múltiples tradiciones denominacionales y teológicas se unieron para apoyar una declaración que exige al Congreso que promulgue una reforma migratoria basada en un conjunto de principios compartidos.

Dozens of Hispanic Christian leaders from multiple denominational and theological traditions have coalesced behind a document that calls on Congress to enact immigration reform based upon a shared set of principles.

Irony accompanies migratory birds as they fly past my window near the U.S.-Mexico border. They come and go as they please. No drama in their lives. No spectacle on their journey.

Yet down here on the ground, reports about unaccompanied migrant children arriving at that border and migrant families being released into the United States have become a daily trend. The humanitarian tragedy that compels migrants to journey hundreds of miles to our border has been exploited for political benefits. Here in the Rio Grande Valley, we are accustomed to this.