The Good News That Does Not Change

By Natalie Foote, RILA President & CEO

Our immigration system is struggling, affecting the well-being and survival of families, children, men and women. The crisis grows, and so it’s not surprising that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently signed a law that is already being challenged, allowing state law enforcement to arrest migrants for unlawfully entering the U.S. in Texas (my home state). This development is yet another act by an elected official who is trying to do something (anything!) about what everyone can see — a crisis of global proportions. Our current laws are insufficient to provide structure or solutions, especially those that the U.S., at its best, is known for — laws that facilitate justice and due process with a strong through-line of compassion.

Immigration laws in the U.S. have not changed for almost 40 years. Even though there have been smaller pieces of legislation over the past few decades, the most recent major immigration legislation passed by the U.S. Congress was in 1986 (!), and though significant, it was not the “comprehensive immigration reform” that virtually everyone agrees is much needed and overdue.

In the absence of that elusive comprehensive reform, administrations, state governments and government agencies continue to create policies and laws (or pair immigration reforms with funding for our allies) to address all the immigration problems — the U.S. southern border, unaccompanied immigrant kids, the millions of undocumented immigrants living in the U.S., the wars, violence and oppressive authoritarian dictatorships that force millions to leave their home countries (that they love) to save their lives and give their kids a chance to live in freedom.

But those policies, executive orders, and judges’ decisions are fragmented, and their consequences reverberate around our court systems, official memos, and media outlets, as everyone tries to understand exactly what they mean and what their effects will be. This is the context of our work. Things change and will continue to change — policies, laws, administrations. There will be wars and injustice resulting in people who find themselves in the most desperate and unimaginable set of circumstances — suffering and grief for which there are no words.

Here in this contested, polarizing and ever-changing space, our mission does not change. For those immigrants who are grieving the loss of their homes, recovering from severe trauma and forced to leave their home countries to seek refuge, we are here to serve, love, help and advocate for their protection and for a chance to live in peace and safety. For those immigrant children who are alone and who have lived through and seen such darkness, we are here for support, to tell them they are seen and loved, and walk with them through their immigration process.

Immigration is not just an “issue.” It encompasses families, children, men and women that we know and love, who are both gracious and humble. How to craft and apply compassionate and just immigration laws in a volatile world is exceedingly complex, but our work is a simple response — a natural outpouring of love and mercy from the love and mercy we ourselves have received. This is the gift of God to our weary world, the Good News that we are loved and saved.