Take Another Look. What if We Saw Asylum Seekers as Our Brothers and Sisters?

Some Christians have bought the lie that the US Border is under invasion. They could be rallying to keep out revival.

The governor of Texas recently said he’s considering a formal declaration that the large number of immigrants arriving at the US-Mexico border constitutes an “invasion,” echoing bluster long used by conservative talk radio and cable news. As the world watches – in horror – as an actual invasion occurs in Ukraine, the absurdity of this rhetoric to describe migrants coming to the U.S. in search of safety and sustenance as if they were a military operation is clear to many.

But many others – including a disproportionate number who share my evangelical Christian faith – seem to have bought this mischaracterization, even though migrants at the border are largely Christians themselves. In fact, the very individuals some U.S. evangelicals view as invaders could actually be bringing spiritual revival.

Let’s be clear: an invasion is what the Russian military has done to Ukraine, crossing a border with the intention of violent domination. When Ukrainians flee that violence to Poland, Romania and other neighboring countries, it is not an invasion: it is seeking asylum, which under European and U.S. law is a legal right for someone fleeing a credible fear of persecution. And that’s also what many Central Americans, Mexicans, Venezuelans, Cubans and others who have been apprehended along the US-Mexico border – including a significant number of Ukrainians in recent weeks – are seeking to do. Read More