The last weekend of August NT-NL Synod, ELCA leaders and myself traveled along with almost 100 ecumenical leaders to the Texas/Mexico border. There we engaged in learning led by Texas Impact, our partner in advocacy and witness. We then traveled from Brownsville to Matamoros to meet with asylum seekers and hear their stories. Many of them asked us for prayers of blessing over them. These individuals have largely fled their country due to violence and persecution. They are seeking legal entry and deserve due process.

Instead they are confronted by US Refugee admission rates that are dramatically reduced from previous Republican and Democratic administrations. They find the court system backlogged and rather than being allowed to stay in the US while their claim is processed (the previous status quo) they are returned to Mexico which has no capacity to house them and they are victimized again by the cartels. In this crisis they are rightly frustrated and on October 10th they protested, closing the bridge in an attempt to get our attention to demand action and recognize their rights to have their claims processed properly.