“But if he’s concluded that evangelical Christians want to see deportations on a much larger scale—millions of members of our churches, millions of parents of U.S. citizen children who could be left behind,” Greene added, “I think he’s gotten his assessment completely wrong.”
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A Former Youth Pastor’s Story of Family Separation After Deportation
Stephanie Gonzalez, a Christian school teacher and former youth pastor, shared that her parents were recently deported to Colombia after a 35-year effort to obtain permanent legal status.
“ My parents came to United States in 1989 trying to seek asylum from Colombia, which was known to be the murder capital of the world at the time,” Gonzalez said. After arriving in the U.S., Gonzalez’s parents were plagued by legal challenges. However, Gonzalez said, “Although it felt discouraging not getting the outcome we wanted over the years, our family never put our trust in a flawed system but in Jesus Christ.”
“ For my parents, the thought that they would get deported was so far from our minds because they’ve always done what they were supposed to do,” Gonzalez shared. “However, after 35 years in this country, our world was completely shattered on Feb. 21. It was a living nightmare that we couldn’t wake up from.”
“ There was no explanation as to why they were detained. No justification for why they put my parents in handcuffs from their wrists down to their ankles, and there was no information given as to where they would be going,” Gonzalez said. “All we could do was trust that the Lord would protect them and keep them safe. Our faith in Jesus is what kept our family going and kept my parents so strong.”
Gonzalez urged Christians to “publicly advocate for fair immigration policies and provide a platform for immigrants to share their stories and raise awareness.”
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“This advocacy can include petitions, community events, or direct communication with policy makers,” she said. “ We can’t turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to this issue because it doesn’t just affect immigrants, it affects their families, friends, communities, and ultimately the entire church.”
