By Elket Rodríguez

Caring for the stranger is an essential part of Christian ethics. 

In fact, Job—the most righteous person of his time—considered welcoming the stranger crucial to his integrity. “But no stranger had to spend the night in the street, for my door was always open to the traveler,” he said (Job 31:32). Jesus took the same position when he said, "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).

We can't distance ourselves from the experience of being a foreigner, since we are foreigners on this earth. The common heart of love and hospitality we share with our Lord should guide us to welcome our neighbor. We should see Christ in the stranger. That is the summary of Matthew 25:35. We should see ourselves in the stranger. That is the main message of Philippians 2:3-5. 

If we expect the United States to be influenced by our Christian values, we must reflect on the fact our nation recently abandoned the Christian and human duty of welcoming the stranger. The most raw expression of this un-Christian sentiment toward strangers is the Migrant Protection Protocols, also known as “MPP” and "Remain in Mexico."

Under MPP, Customs and Border Protection officers return to Mexico all non-Mexican Spanish-speaking immigrants who arrive at the southern border seeking asylum. They receive notices to appear in court but must wait in Mexico until their next court date.  

You may consider MPP a good policy, but these "strangers" are exposed daily to cartel violence, sex trafficking, physical assaults and sexual abuse while they await the asylum process. In fact, the U.S. Department of State has issued travel advisories warning U.S. citizens not to travel where MPP is in place, due to the danger of being kidnapped or a victim of crime. Still, U.S. government policy sends the most vulnerable and needy to those same places it urges its citizens not to visit.  

Meanwhile, the U.S. government doesn't support the immigrants returned to Mexico. Therefore, most of them are homeless, forced to live in tents and exposed to unhealthy environments where they share bathrooms and washing spaces collectively. There is a scarcity of physicians to help them with their medical conditions. These migrants don't have access to work in Mexico and depend upon the help they get from humanitarian organizations. MPP has created a humanitarian crisis on our southern border. 

The U.S. government has promoted this humanitarian tragedy, allowing discretionary and arbitrary implementation of the program. Customs and Border Protection officers often return immigrants to other locations in northern Mexico, far from where they first arrived. This places immigrants and their families in uncertain circumstances. Men have been kidnapped and tortured because CBP returned them to another Mexican city, where a rival cartel dominates. 

The discretionary implementation of MPP also has separated families. For example, members of some families have been allowed to proceed with their asylum claims inside the United States, while other members are placed under the MPP program. Most of these men, women and children are fleeing persecution, death threats and torture in their home countries. In their attempt to enter the United States, they sometimes face the same threats and conditions they are fleeing. 

You won't hear most of these stories in the press because migrants are scared to report the abuses they've endured. They are scared of what could happen to them if they speak out. As a Christian attorney, journalist and advocate, their safety always is my primary concern. 

The MPP should be known as the "Unwelcoming Our Neighbor Policy." It turns Christians into bad witnesses if we don't stand up against it. The MPP is a cruel policy that seeks not just to deter immigration, but also to place immigrants in danger. It is closing the door of our home to the sick, the poor and the needy. 

Welcoming the stranger is one of God's most explicit and consistent commands. The Bible doesn't make excuses. Neither does God. Dozens of verses in the Bible, from Genesis (Genesis 23:4) to Revelation (Revelation 21:3) develop the topic progressively. God’s word constantly reminded Jews they once were strangers (Leviticus 19:34) and insists Christians are foreigners on this earth (Hebrews 11:13). 

Never forget. You were a foreigner yourself. 

Elket Rodríguez, an attorney and minister, is CBF’s immigrant and refugee specialist. He lives on the U.S.-Mexico border, in Harlingen, Texas, and works with CBF Advocacy, CBF Global Missions and Fellowship Southwest.