The Rev. Canon E. Mark Stevenson, director of Episcopal Migration Ministries, responds to rulings U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang of Maryland and U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson of Hawaii that freeze President Trump’s second executive order regarding immigration:
On behalf of Episcopal Migration Ministries, I give thanks that the courts have once again acted in defense of refugees and immigrants by restraining the implementation of the recent executive order to ban certain nationalities, cultures, and religions from entering this country. Refugees in particular are among the most vulnerable children, women, and men in the world, and the actions sought against them would have been yet more persecution in their already violence-ridden lives. We recognize that the struggle to walk the moral path is far from over, but for today we rejoice that America will continue to welcome those in great need to a place of safety and opportunity.
Episcopal Migration Ministries strives to live into the divine callings of loving our neighbor and welcoming the stranger. I pray that hearts and minds will be opened all across this land to the plight of refugees, so that as a nation we might be known as a place of fulfilled hope for those who have been forced to flee from their homes for fear of their lives.
“‘Lord, when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you…?’ ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these, you did it to me’” (Matt. 25:38,40).