80% of potential deportees under Trump are Christian, report shows
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Many US Christians may be ignorant of the large number of possible deportees who share their religion.
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Reverand W.J. Mark Knutson walks with an El Salvadoran immigrant at the Augustana Lutheran Church. (AP)
Up to 80% of immigrants facing deportation from the United States due to the Trump administration's policies are Christian, a new study showed, as reported by The Independent.
This corresponds to nearly 10 million Christians at risk of removal, with an additional seven million US Christian citizens living in households under threat of deportation.
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported over 100,000 individuals since Trump took office, the New York Post reported, citing an ICE source. Additionally, ICE officials have carried out 113,000 arrests since Trump's inauguration, the newspaper said in a report published on Monday.
While the study focuses on the issue of Christian immigrants, its supporters express a broader concern for all those facing deportation.
Matthew Soerens, vice president of advocacy and policy at World Relief, an evangelical humanitarian group and report co-sponsor, emphasized the Christian conviction in the intrinsic dignity of all persons, regardless of faith or ethnicity.
He also acknowledged that many US Christians may be ignorant of the large number of possible deportees who share their religion.
The National Association of Evangelicals, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops' Committee on Migration, and the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts all contributed to the report.
A road to legal status
While the study does not take a political stance, it primarily tries to raise awareness of the issue among Christians, and some of its sponsors have campaigned for legislation that would offer some types of immigrants a road to legal status.
Trump garnered significant support from Christian groups in his campaigns, with strong backing from white evangelicals, white Catholics, and Latino evangelicals, while fears of deportation under his immigration policies have led some immigrant Christians to avoid public spaces, contributing to the growth and vibrancy of churches in the US.
Even the fear of deportation may induce people to shun public locations, such as church sessions. According to Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, "They're coming from parts of the world where the church is actually thriving."
"Not only are they bringing that thriving faith and contributing to America, they're also contributing to the vibrancy of the church in America."
Mass deportation would be a government-sponsored "church decline strategy," according to Kim.
Kim stated that his group has long fought for measures that would differentiate between individuals convicted of violent crimes and "the much larger share of immigrants who are contributing to our communities and churches, and who are serious and eager" to remain in the nation.
Immigrants less likely to commit violent crimes than native-born citizens
Many studies have revealed that immigrants are less likely to commit violent crimes than native-born citizens.
According to a recent assessment, Catholics make up more than half of all persons who are at risk of deportation in the United States, according to Bishop Mark Seitz, leader of the bishops' conference's Committee on Migration.
Deportations could separate families and expose individuals to the dangers they fled, including government oppression and organized crime, with potential fatal consequences if the current deportation efforts continue, warned Seitz, head of the Diocese of El Paso.
He also cautioned that “People are going to die if this deportation effort continues at the level it is."
