At no time has the church in the U.S. had a greater opportunity to welcome Jesus among us as he journeys with migrants, immigrants, and refugees than today. We, your bishops, are clear that the situation these beloved of God face threatens their humanity, livelihood, and basic human rights.
For decades, a broken immigration system in the U.S. has kept migrants, immigrants, and refugees in this country living in the shadows of society in a state of perpetual fear. They have come to the U.S. under forced circumstances, fleeing extreme poverty, hunger, political and religious persecution, war, cartel and gang violence, and the severe impact of climate change. Some are actively recruited by large U.S. companies that need their labor. Yet migrants, immigrants, and refugees help to sustain the U.S. economy, serving our families by caring for our children and our elderly, cleaning our homes, landscaping our properties, building our roads and houses, and cultivating and picking the crops that feed our families. They are our neighbors, our friends, and members and pastors of our churches. Racist, xenophobic, nationalistic, and anti-migrant hate speech has become standard rhetoric. We are living in a dark time that, more than ever, calls us to be the light of Christ—people of faith who take our baptismal vow to “resist evil in all its forms” with utmost seriousness.
As United Methodists, we have firmly declared through our Social Principles that we are called to actively welcome the migrant, immigrant, and refugee among us:
- Affirming the dignity, worth, and rights of migrants, immigrants, and refugees.
- Recognizing that displaced people are particularly vulnerable, as their in-between status often provides them with few protections and benefits, leaving them open to exploitation, violence, and abuse.
- Urging one another to welcome migrants, refugees, and immigrants into our congregations, providing concrete support to them, including help with navigating restrictive and often lengthy immigration policies, and assistance with securing food, housing, education, employment, and other kinds of support.
- Opposing all laws and policies that attempt to criminalize, dehumanize, or punish displaced individuals and families based on their status as migrants, immigrants, or refugees.
- Decrying attempts to detain displaced people and hold them in inhumane and unsanitary conditions.
- Challenging policies that call for the separation of families, especially parents and minor children.
- Opposing the existence of for-profit detention centers that are used for the purpose of detaining migrants, immigrants, and refugees, including minor children.
(Social Principles of The United Methodist Church, The Political Community: Basic Rights and Freedoms, Section G. Migrants, Immigrants, and Refugees)
We, your bishops, call upon the people of The United Methodist Church to pray for migrants, immigrants, and refugees among us and to welcome them with the fullness of Christian love, remembering that as we welcome these, our brothers and sisters, we welcome Jesus our Lord.
Bishop Connie Mitchell Shelton
Raleigh Episcopal Area
North Carolina Conference
The United Methodist Church
Bishop Tracy S. Malone
President, Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church
