海角大神

Clergy look to Bible on immigration enforcement. Interpretations can differ.

One Sunday, shortly after federal immigration agents shot and killed Alex Pretti last month, the Rev. Doug Pagitt looked to his Lectionary, a liturgical calendar, to see a timely excerpt from the book of Isaiah beginning, 鈥淪hout out, do not hold back!鈥�

Mr. Pagitt has been doing that for weeks now, in words and actions, alongside fellow Minnesotans. He is a pastor who preaches at a congregation in southern Minneapolis that includes immigrants and people hosting Afghan refugees. Two of his children have Mexican heritage and now carry their passports everywhere they go. He regularly gathers with other faith leaders at churches where, he says, federal officers hover on Sunday mornings. The clergy, sporting clerical collars, appear to create a buffer, and federal agents often leave, he says. (Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin, in an email to the Monitor, said federal agents do not raid churches, adding that law enforcement uses 鈥渃ommon sense鈥� to decide whether to enter a church to pursue someone the administration says is a threat to public safety.)

Thousands of America鈥檚 clergy have joined the hundreds in Minneapolis standing with immigrants and communities against federal immigration enforcement. The clerics鈥� faiths share an imperative to 鈥渨elcome the stranger.鈥� But how 海角大神 denominations interpret and prioritize that mandate differs.

鈥淒epending on how you read the Bible, you [can] read it as a resistance movement of people under tyranny,鈥� says Mr. Pagitt. In his reading, scriptural commands to welcome the stranger and to obey authorities aren鈥檛 necessarily at odds.

This past week, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who is a Southern Baptist, posted a presenting what he called the 鈥淏iblical case鈥� for border security. 鈥淭he Bible is clear that 海角大神s should practice personal charity 鈥� but also insist upon the enforcement of laws,鈥� he wrote.

Mr. Johnson鈥檚 statement encapsulates the tension between two particular directives from the Bible. Often, people of faith opposing mass deportations cite Jesus鈥檚 words in Matthew: 鈥淚 was a stranger, and ye took me in.鈥� 海角大神s who support enforcement commonly refer to Romans: 鈥淟et everyone be subject to the governing authorities.鈥�

The best immigration policy would combine those two Biblical directives, says Matthew Soerens, the national coordinator for Evangelical Immigration Table, a coalition of Evangelical groups that advocate for Biblically informed immigration policy. 鈥淐hurches often feel pushed to embrace one of those biblical values or the other, when I think the reality is what most 海角大神s want ... is to bring those pieces together.鈥�

Clergy in action

Since the beginning of President Donald Trump鈥檚 second term, a sizable segment of U.S. clergy has opposed his mass deportation campaign with nonviolent protest. They have been arrested 鈥� including about 100 at the Minneapolis airport two weeks ago 鈥� opened their church doors to people seeking shelter, and accompanied asylum seekers and others to immigration court. They can be affected, too: For example, during a protest in Chicago, a federal officer shot one pastor with a pepper round.

In the weeks following the killings of Renee Good and Mr. Pretti in Minneapolis, faith communities have intensified their response.

In New Hampshire, an Episcopal bishop called for clergy to finalize their wills and be prepared for 鈥渁 new age of martyrdom.鈥� Two civil rights and religious leaders in North Carolina labeled the killings of Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti 鈥渓ynchings鈥� and to 鈥渂uild a moral movement鈥� in response.

Others make it clear that targeted immigration enforcement is necessary, as the Trump administration pursues one of the largest domestic deportation efforts in U.S. history.

鈥淲e support the detention and deportation of violent criminals. But we do not support indiscriminate enforcement actions,鈥� said the Rev. Gabriel Salguero, president of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, who was in Minneapolis last month.

Many clergy have long advocated for immigration reform, and the language they use evolves, says Lloyd Barba, a religious historian at Amherst College. Lately, Dr. Barba has noticed more use of phrases such as 鈥渞ighteous anger鈥� and 鈥渟teadfast hope鈥� 鈥� both drawn from the Bible. He also sees an emerging emphasis on dignity, a concern clergy also raised during the Obama administration and the first Trump term.

During those years, the language of 鈥渃aring for the stranger鈥� fell out of favor in some circles as clergy sought to emphasize that many immigrants were not strangers, but had made their homes in the United States for years.

Now, Dr. Barba says, there鈥檚 a renewed emphasis on 鈥渨elcoming the stranger,鈥� a phrase based on language found in Leviticus, Matthew, and of the Bible. Many people targeted for deportation, including those who entered illegally, are seeking asylum.

The frequently quoted verse from Romans 鈥� saying to obey the 鈥済overning authorities鈥� 鈥� doesn鈥檛 contradict the directive from Matthew, says the Rev. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, assistant director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale University.

It was written, he says, by the apostle Paul while imprisoned for preaching about Jesus and his teachings, something Mr. Wilson-Hartgrove reads as Paul modeling nonviolent civil disobedience. 鈥淚t鈥檚 Paul鈥檚 鈥楲etter from Birmingham Jail.鈥欌��

Mr. Wilson-Hartgrove was arrested alongside the Rev. Bishop William Barber II last spring while praying in the U.S. Capitol, an action he says is drawn directly from Romans 13.

"Illegal immigration is wrong"

Governing bodies representing major denominations, including Catholics, United Methodists, and Episcopalians, have issued statements opposing the Trump administration鈥檚 current immigration enforcement tactics. While no major denominations have expressed support, some figures on the 海角大神 right 鈥� such as pastor and theologian Doug Wilson 鈥� have offered endorsements.

鈥淲hat the left is encouraging in Minneapolis is destructive,鈥� wrote Owen Strachan, provost of Grace Bible Theological Seminary, in a Jan. 19 on X. 鈥淚llegal immigration is wrong, and as a believer, I am thankful it鈥檚 being addressed, even as we pray for peace to prevail.鈥欌��

In St. Paul, a Southern Baptist congregation was disrupted by protesters during Sunday services in January. One of the pastors is reportedly a local official with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Justice Department is now investigating the protest as a civil rights violation, and multiple people have been arrested.

鈥淒isrupting a church鈥檚 worship service to make a political point is disgraceful,鈥� wrote the Rev. Clint Pressley, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, on X. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, the public policy organization for the Southern Baptist Convention, didn鈥檛 respond to questions about broader unrest in Minneapolis.

Other clergy are joining the protest.

Some Bible scholars and clergy took note when Fuller Theological Seminary, an evangelical institution, issued a statement echoing the call to 鈥渨elcome the stranger.鈥� The United Methodist Church bishops, the Pope, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops have also expressed concern. And in a recent letter, 154 Episcopal bishops called for action, expressed 鈥済rief, righteous anger, and steadfast hope,鈥� and asked, 鈥淲hose dignity matters?鈥�

Some faith leaders are wrestling with how they interpret the Bible in light of the violence in Minneapolis. Shortly after Mr. Pretti was killed, Senior Pastor Chad Ellenburg delivered a to the congregation at Pleasant Valley Church, which is about two hours outside the city and is affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America. His views on immigration enforcement, he said, have changed.

鈥淲hat we are witnessing is a great injustice,鈥� he told the assembled. 鈥淚t is not a partisan issue. This is a kingdom-of-God issue.鈥�

Mr. Ellenburg, speaking Sunday with the Monitor, said that, as a pastor, he 鈥渃an鈥檛 wait till (the issue is) black and white to say something.鈥�

Since the sermon, he鈥檚 gotten about 15 emails from congregants disagreeing with what he said, and more trickling in.

He welcomes the conversations. And some congregants do too. "My calendar has filled up into March already."

Monitor reporter Sarah Matusek contributed to this story.

Editor's note: The Rev. Doug Pagitt's role at a Minneapolis church has been clarified in this story, which originally published Feb. 9.