April Update: UN and State Edition

Following are updates shared from submissions of the Lutheran Office for World Community and state public policy offices (sppos) in the ELCA Advocacy Network this month. Full list and map of sppos available.

U.N.

Lutheran Office for World Community (LOWC), United Nations, New York, N.Y. – ELCA.org/lowc

Dennis Frado, Director

The sixty-sixth session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) took place from 14 to 25 March 2022. The Priority Theme was achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programs; and the Review Theme was women’s economic empowerment in the changing world of work.

Despite taking place in a hybrid format, CSW66 had high-level participation from Member States, including two Heads of State and Government, three vice-presidents, and 111 ministers. In addition, 213 virtual side events were organized by Member States and UN entities, many in collaboration with civil society. Also, more than 800 virtual non-governmental organizations (NGO) parallel events organized by civil society took place.

The Lutheran World Federation and the ELCA participated virtually in the two-week event with a delegation of over 80 members from different parts of the world, facilitated by the Lutheran Office for World Community. Delegates highlighted the urgency of taking action against the climate crisis, especially as it relates to women’s human rights and their ability to participate as equals in climate action. In addition, they showcased the vital role that faith actors play in promoting women’s empowerment, and in combating violence and discrimination to achieve greater gender equality at local, national, and international levels. This CSW66 brought together the gender and climate justice work that Lutherans have led over many years including youth-led climate justice action around the world by amplifying the leadership and voices of young people.

Colorado

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry Colorado (LAM-CO) – lam-co.org

Peter Severson, Director

On April 9, volunteers from Urban Servant Corps, a one-year full time Lutheran volunteer program in Denver, joined LAM-CO Director Peter Severson for a visit to the Colorado State Capitol Building.

LEGISLATIVE SESSION IN CRUNCH TIME: As the Colorado General Assembly moves into the final quarter of its 2022 session, LAM-CO is actively working on a host of bills related to our 2022 Advocacy Agenda. Among our top priorities this session:

HB 1259, Modifications to Colorado Works Program (Duran/Jodeh). This bill will offer badly-needed updates to our state’s Basic Cash Assistance program, which is funded through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. It will remove some key barriers to eligibility and increase baseline assistance.
SB 087, Healthy Meals for All Public School Students (Pettersen/Fields). The bill continues a program initiated through Colorado’s federal COVID relief funds, covering the cost of school meals for all children in schools participating in the National School Lunch Program.
SB 099, Sealing Criminal Records (Hisey/Rodriguez). Also known as “Clean Slate,” the bill automates the record-sealing process for certain non-violent offenses, for which over one million Coloradans are already eligible.

New Mexico

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry New Mexico (LAM-NM) – lutheranadvocacynm.org

Kurt Rager, Director

It’s like farming Redwood trees…

Ruth Hoffman, the long-time director of LAM-NM now retired, would describe the work of legislative advocacy as, “farming redwood trees.” In other words, positive policy change can take years of cultivation and work to achieve. The 2022 New Mexico legislature passed several bills during the legislative session that would exemplify this. We at LAM-NM are particularly proud of our role in the success of HB-132.

HB-132 cut interest rates on short-term loans, offered by nearly 900 store-front lenders across New Mexico, from 175% to 36%. (Twenty years ago, such loans were offered at well over 400%.) These loans target New Mexico’s most financially vulnerable and 65% of lenders are located within 10 miles of Indigenous lands. Even more devastating, these loans are typically rolled over several times. What may have started as an emergency loan for a few hundred turns into several thousand dollars owed. More than 15 years ago a concerted effort to reduce interest rates began.

LAM-NM, working alongside partner organizations that together make up the NM Fair Lending Coalition, cultivated this effort over numerous sessions while confronting formidable opposition. n 2022, to amplify the voice of faith communities, a letter from denominational leaders of the NM Conference of Churches was initiated. Individuals in congregations were invited to sign-on as well, and in just over two weeks almost 500 advocacy partners in 40 congregations added their names to the letter to legislators in support of the 36% interest rate cap. Indeed, the impact of the letter was clear as it was referenced during the House floor debate.

Ohio

Hunger Network Ohio (HNO) – hungernetwork.org

Deacon Nick Bates, Director

Ohio continues to struggle to adopt fair maps in the state. It appears that Ohio’s congressional maps will move forward for at least the 2022 election cycle while state maps remain in legal limbo. We encourage you to follow our colleagues at Common Cause Ohio to stay up-to-date.

In March, we were excited to host our second webinar on the intersection of hunger and other issues. This time we focused on the environment and discussed policy issues in Ohio related to clean water and energy production. For too long, Ohio has under-invested in clean water infrastructure including mapping and replacing lead pipes, wastewater, and stormwater management. We also spent a half hour discussing local congregational efforts including those in Southwest Ohio at Christ the King Lutheran Church with their efforts to not only move toward sustainability but toward restoration. You can watch our webinar here!

Our next webinar will focus on criminal justice but has not yet been scheduled. Follow our Facebook page to see when future events are scheduled!

Pennsylvania

Lutheran Advocacy Ministry – Pennsylvania (LAMPa) lutheranadvocacypa.org

Tracey DePasquale, Director

Budget advocacy accelerated this month as LAMPa met with coalition partners to organize around priorities and sought input from our ministries. LAMPa Director Tracey DePasquale made legislative visits to seek support for increases in the State Food Purchase Program and the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System in the face of rising food prices. The state’s two major anti-hunger programs support lower purchase prices for Pennsylvania’s charitable food network that includes many congregational pantries. LAMPa also worked to identify champions for a proposed state-supported increase in minimum Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for seniors and persons with disabilities.

LAMPa and coalition partners made progress on securing bipartisan support for legislation dealing with prescription drug pricing and funding for the state housing trust fund. LAMPa advocates have worked for years on the program, and it will be the focus of a presentation at United Lutheran Seminary on April 28. The presentation, which will include conversation with housing agency officials and advocates who themselves have experienced homelessness, will conclude the seminary’s spring convocation.

DePasquale met with Lutheran Disaster Response, Pa. Council of Churches, and Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster regarding increases in state funding for disaster and plans to educate the next administration about disaster response.

Staff offered advocacy presentations to Allegheny Synod deans and congregations in Lower Susquehanna Synod, hosted a webinar on energy choice and community solar advocacy, met with Lutheran advocates monitoring elections legislation and continued work with partners seeking independent investigations of police use of lethal force.

Washington

Faith Action Network (FAN) – fanwa.org

Elise DeGooyer, Director

Pictured is Kristin Ang at the Transportation package signing.

We are celebrating some wonderful successes from the 2022 Legislative Session that ended on March 10. This was one of the most productive short sessions in recent memory, with transformational investments across the safety net—food, school meals, housing, and cash assistance—as well as transportation and education. By the end of session, the largest supplemental budget in history passed with $64.1 billion that will make a tangible difference for our communities, along with a 16-year, $17 billion transportation package called “Move Ahead Washington” that will reduce emissions and dependence on fossil fuels. We were frustrated that our criminal justice and police reform bills did not move and recommit ourselves to continue working in coalition to move forward a ban on solitary confinement and other essential reforms. Other notable achievements of this session included bipartisan support for the nation’s first alert system for missing and endangered Indigenous persons, momentous victories for gun responsibility, and additional funding to support refugees arriving in our state. You can review the full list of successes and read Policy Engagement Director Kristin Ang’s recap at fanwa.org/advocacy/legislative-agenda.

Wisconsin

Lutheran Office for Public Policy – Wisconsin (LOPPW) loppw.org

The Rev. Cindy Crane, Director

Care for God’s Creation – Message from Governor Evers’ Office: “The Governor will today sign AB 727/SB 677, which Lutheran Office for Public Policy Wisconsin supported, related to creating a commercial nitrogen optimization pilot program, providing crop insurance rebates for cover crops, creating a hydrogeologist position, extending the time limit for emergency rule procedures, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures, granting rule-making authority, and making an appropriation. We wanted to make sure you knew before it came out publicly. Thank you so much for your advocacy.” signed by Camille Crary, Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Governor Tony Evers

Human Trafficking: LOPPW’s director the Rev. Cindy Crane was one of the presenters at UW-Madison Law School’s Wisconsin Journal of Law, Gender Society Symposium, at the recommendation of a La Crosse legislator. LOPPW presented on recent anti-sex trafficking bills.

Wednesday Noon Live: Interview with Secretary of State Doug La Follette. How some leaders tried to overthrow the 2020 election results in Wisconsin: What is at stake in the Secretary of State’s position? Click here to watch the interview.

Youth Advocacy: We held our first listening session for youth, who showed interest in climate justice, equity and racism, anti-bullying, equity and LGBTQ+ issues, and hunger and class. There is interest in holding a second session.

Raise the Age: Our coalition had its first online informational session, which included testimonies from two people with experience being sent to adult prison as youth. You can watch the video here.

Identity and Relationship in Arab-American Culture By Ryan LaHurd

In his Daily Meditation of February 6 on 1 Corinthians 12, Rev. Richard Rohr writes “Humanity consistently has to face the problem of unity and diversity. We’re not very good at understanding it. We habitually choose our smaller groups, because we don’t know how to belong to a larger group. That demands too much letting go.”

He notes that Paul’s doctrine of the Body of Christ “isn’t easy for Westerners to understand, because we are deeply trained in cultural individualism. So much so, we don’t even recognize our lack.” It seems impossible that anyone with eyes and ears open could fail to recognize the pervasive individualism in our country. For many, the synonym of “it’s a free country” is “you can’t tell me what to do.”

One advantage of belonging to a large group with internal diversity like the ELCA is that we can see varied cultures within a group whose defining culture we share. During Arab American Heritage Month, I would like to discuss an element of Arab-Middle Eastern culture that might help elucidate a different way of being in a group, a way of “letting go.”

For most of my life, the common translation of the Transfiguration story in Mark included a voice saying, “This is my beloved Son.” In more recent translations, we hear, “This is my Son, the Beloved.” These two versions may sound pretty much the same, but they are not. In the first, “beloved” is an adjective describing the son; in the second “beloved” is a name for the Son, an identification by relationship.

Almost anyone who has grown up in an Arabic-speaking family – even a person who didn’t master Arabic – knows the Arabic (and Aramaic) word for “beloved.” It is a word we have heard dozens of times a day as parents and grandparents call to us and our siblings: habibi/ habibti. “Ya habibi, tha,” they might say. “Oh, my Beloved, come here.” While it sounds stilted in translation, it sounds quite appropriate in context. Importantly, it constitutes the replacement of a name by a relationship.

For many of us represented by the groups of color in the Church, our personal cultures insist that one’s identity is, at least in part, other-oriented. We shape identities based on our family and our community. In the case of those of Arab and Middle Eastern heritage, there is a sense that we are nothing without a family and community to help define us.

The internal relationships of Arab families reflect this cultural reality. Imagine, for example, a young Arab man named Ibrahim and his wife Mariam who have their first child, a son, whom they name Yusuf. From Yusuf’s birth he will be called Ibn Ibrahim, “the son of Ibrahim,” but his parents will also take on new names. They will be from that point on called Abu Yusuf, “father of Yusuf,” Um Yusuf, mother of Yusuf” by friends and family.

I have heard non-Arabs denigrate this custom: “Why should I give up my identity just because I became a parent?” But that is really the crux. This approach is not giving up one’s identity but expanding it in terms of relationships. In Arab culture, one is not defined in isolation but in connection, in relations. And that is a lesson those of Arab-American heritage can share with the Church: we cannot be fully who we are meant to be if we remain isolated individuals.

In his prayer at the Last Supper in John 17, Jesus describes how he views the ideal relationship with us: “that they may all be one, even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us … that they may be one even as we are one.” Here, I believe, is the core of Jesus’ prayer and its most complex and mysterious part. When Jesus suggests that his followers can be one as he and his Father are one, he takes us directly to the mystery of the Trinity. In distinction from the other Western monotheistic religions, Christianity alone posits the person of God as built on relationship, a unity without uniformity. In praying that we be one as Jesus and his Father are one, he is envisioning a future in which his followers will take their identity in part from their relationships with others, unified but not uniform.

Dr. Ryan A. LaHurd is a spouse, father of two, and grandfather of five. He served as president of Lenoir-Rhyne University, Hickory, N.C., an ELCA higher education institution, from 1994-2022. Dr. LaHurd, an Arab-American of Lebanese ancestry, has served as a teacher, administrator, author, and leader in many capacities, including with the ELCA Association of Lutherans of Arab and Middle Eastern Heritage. He and his spouse Dr. Carol Schersten LaHurd are members of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Chicago.

April 24, 2022–Opening Doors and Hearts

Jason Fisher, Champaign, IL

Warm-up Question

Name some reasons someone might lock themselves in their room?
What would it be like to live your whole life without leaving that room? What would you miss?

Opening Doors and Hearts

Kristen Berthiaume and her family live in Alabama. They wanted to promote racial justice in their community. Seeing that nationwide protests and demands for justice were often met with open racism and ignorance, the family decided to create an Anti-racist Little Library in front of their home. Kristen noticed that books about racial justice were high on bestseller lists. So, she stocked their library with them, hoping they might educate their community and allow kids to see themselves in a wider variety of books.

Alabama Poet Laureate Ashley Jones was filled with hope when she found her book, Reparations Now!,” tucked inside the Antiracist Little Library. Jones is not only the first person of color, but also the youngest person, to be Poet Laureate of Alabama.

In an interview, Jones shared, “As a Black woman in America, racism is absolutely inescapable. It shows up in all the little places and all the big places and all the places you don’t expect. Sometimes it’s in a textbook. Sometimes it’s in a purse grabbed as I walk by, sometimes it’s in a question about my hair, my skin. If anyone believes we have even come close to solving issues of racism and discrimination, they’re mistaken. If I’m afraid to go for a run, go buy a snack, go to sleep in my own bed behind my own locked door, we aren’t finished working yet.”

Discussion Questions

What is the last book you have read by an author of a different race, culture, or religion?
In what ways do books about other people’s experiences open doors to better relationships with them?

Second Sunday of Easter

Acts 5:27-32

Revelation 1:4-8

John 20:19-31

(Text links are to Oremus Bible Browser. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at Lectionary Readings.)

For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic Agnus Day.

Gospel Reflection

In this post-resurrection account we find the disciples hiding in fear behind locked doors, in a self-imposed prison. There is no life there, only the fear of death. They’ve spent years watching and participating in the life-giving ministry of Jesus. Now they hide and cling to what can hardly be called life. Then, right in the midst of their fear, Jesus brings peace and proof, life from death–not locks and doors. After Jesus breaths the Holy Spirit on them the disciples can no longer stay in locked rooms; they go out and share with others what they have seen and heard.

A whole week goes by and they are again in the same house. BUT this time the doors are not locked. They are shut, but not locked. So, we could say they are making progress. Again, Jesus brings proof and peace, but this time it is for Thomas. Instead of rejecting him for not believing the other disciples, Jesus invites Thomas to touch his wounds. And Thomas believes.

John says Jesus did many other signs in front of the disciples which are not recorded. Then he adds, “…but these are written in this book so that YOU may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have in his name.” The very words of this Gospel are written directly to YOU that you might be set free and have life in Jesus’ name. Jesus frees us from fear. He frees us from feeling like we missed out. Jesus makes us look around and figure out who is not in the room with us so that we can invite them in.

Discussion Questions

Where have you experienced peace this week?
Whose experiences are missing from your life, and how might you reach out to touch (and learn from) them?
What do you need God to prove to you right now?

Activity Suggestions

Read a book, memorize a poem, listen to a speaker, or watch a movie created by someone who is a minority voice in your culture. Then ask yourself, “What are their wounds? Are there things to which I’ve had access that are denied to them?” Share what you have learned from that person with your friends and family. Begin recommending resources that will challenge them as well.

Closing Prayer

Think of something you are afraid of right now. Find a door that has a lock on it. Begin a prayer by holding onto the doorknob.

Pray; “Lord right now I am afraid of….” (As you lift up your fear to God, lock the door.)

Pray; “Jesus give me your peace.” (as you ask for peace, unlock the door.)

Pray; “Spirit send me.” (as you finish the prayer, open the door and walk through.)

Introducing “A Declaration of the ELCA to the Muslim Community”

By Professor Mark Swanson

On March 31^st, the ELCA Church Council adopted “A Declaration of the ELCA to the Muslim Community,” uplifting our commitment to friendship and solidarity with our Muslim neighbors.

The idea that the ELCA should develop “A Declaration to the Muslim Community” has been around for some time, especially since the Reformation commemorations of 2017, when there was renewed focus in a variety of forums on Luther’s attitudes toward the religious Other. After the adoption at the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly of “A Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment,” the Lutheran-Muslim Consultative Panel began in earnest to discuss the need and possibility of such a document.

At the Panel’s last in-person meeting on February 22, 2020, we decided that the time was right: Muslim friends were asking for such a statement; the LWF Assembly in 2017 had committed itself to working towards a statement on Lutheran-Muslim relations, but had encouraged the ELCA to develop its own and to offer it to the LWF as a contribution; and, of course, acts of discrimination against Muslims (e.g., the so-called “Muslim ban”) and violence (think of the Christchurch mosque shootings of 2019) were heavy on our hearts and minds. Even then, we were wondering what the 2022 US election season might bring (remembering the ”Ground Zero Mosque” and Qur’an burning controversies of 2010, and the “Muslim ban” of 2016).

Work on a preliminary draft of a statement continued into the pandemic but stalled for a time. But last October (2021) we made a fresh start, asking Panel members and a few Muslim friends and colleagues to name just two or three things that should be included in a possible Declaration. The collected responses provided a remarkably coherent roadmap, and a series of focused Panel meetings led to the statement that you now have before you.

I would like to make a few comments about this Declaration:

We tried to keep it short and simple, resisting the natural inclinations of the scholars in the group to write excurses and lengthy footnotes.
We decided to keep the focus on North America and our relationships as ELCA members with our friends, neighbors, and inter-religious partners here. In just one paragraph do we broaden out (partly at the request of LWF and Muslim colleagues), to speak of projects of the LWF and of major inter-religious initiatives by Muslim leaders and scholars.
We were challenged to speak a word about how we view Muslims, and not just how we think or theologize about them – and the language that seemed right was that of love, respect, esteem, and friendship (and certainly nothing that could be read as simply toleration).
In speaking about Luther we walked a tightrope, or several at once: acknowledging his painful rhetoric while not going into unnecessary detail about it; avoiding making an apologetic for Luther while at the same time honoring the one from whom our denomination takes its name.
We build on earlier Declarations of the ELCA, especially the “Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment” and also “A Declaration of the ELCA to the Jewish Community.”
And we conclude the Declaration with two remarkable quotations from bishops of this church, from Bishop Eaton and from Bishop Hanson, which point to the “journey” or the “pilgrimage” that ELCA members and our Muslim friends and neighbors are on, together.

The final draft of the document was reviewed by several of our Muslim partners, by Bishop Eaton, and by the Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Committee of the Conference of Bishops and by other key partners within the ELCA.

Over the coming month, during the holy season of Ramadan, we will be sharing this declaration with our Muslim partners and neighbors, and invite you to join us in this effort.

I want to close by acknowledging the members of the ELCA’s Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Muslim relations, which was entrusted with the development of this Declaration: panel members Prof. Jonathan Brockopp; Dr. Carol LaHurd; Prof. Paul Rajashekar; and Prof. Nelly van Doorn-Harder; ecumenical representative Dr. Peter Makari; and churchwide staff: Dr. Kathryn Lohre, along with the Rev. Dr. Carmelo Santos and Ms. Kristen Opalinski. It’s been an amazing team: intellectually stimulating, passionate, unafraid of disagreement, every one with extraordinary experience and contacts among Muslims and others.

Professor Mark Swanson is chair of the ELCA Consultative Panel on Lutheran-Muslim Relations. He serves at the Lutheran School of Theology as the Harold S. Vogelaar Professor of Christian-Muslim Studies and Interfaith Relations and Associate Director of A Center of Christian-Muslim Engagement for Peace and Justice.

Why the Confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson Matters

by guest blogger Judith E.B. Roberts [about the author]

I share this blog from my personal perspective as a Black woman in America and what the confirmation of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson means to me.

Last week, history was made when the U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. She will serve as the first Black woman justice in the 232-year history of the Supreme Court. It is not the only, nor likely the last “historic first” for the highest court in the United States. In 1967, Justice Thurgood Marshall broke through the racial color line by becoming the first African American Supreme Court justice. In 1981, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor shattered the gender glass ceiling, becoming the first female Supreme Court justice. Justice Sonia Sotomayor became the first woman of color and the first Latina to be appointed in 2009. In terms of racial and gender identity, today’s nine Supreme Court justices certainly reflect greater diversity than the first justices of 1790.

When we consider diversity, we consider that we are all complex individuals with differing lived experiences and social identities, such as our race, ethnicity, gender, age, sexual orientation, ability, religion and socio-economic status. These aspects of our identities are inextricably linked and shape the ways we view the world. Legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw first coined the term intersectionality to help explain the oppression experienced by Black women. Crenshaw explains: “Recognizing that we all carry many identities that come with varying levels of power and privilege is called intersectionality.”

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson represents more than just her accomplishments in the legal realm. Her melanin-rich complexion and natural textured locks speak volumes. This is relevant because historical, deeply rooted racist and sexist views about Black women—views that began with the enslavement of African people—still persist today. Attitudes about the behavior of Black women continue to be represented in media and entertainment by negative caricatures, such as the subservient mammy, the sassy sapphire, the seductress jezebel and the welfare queen. White European beauty standards of fair skin, sharp facial features, straight hair and slender body frames are still culturally and globally dominant. Black women and girls experience microaggressions, judgement, unconscious biases and physical attacks upon our bodies due to our natural hair texture, melanin-rich complexions, body shapes and physical features.

Given all these realities, representation matters. When people from historically marginalized groups see leaders who resemble them in key positions, it builds self-esteem, especially for younger people. Representation fosters greater trust within systems and institutions. It also adds a greater diversity of voices, perspectives and lived experiences to the processes that impact decisions, policies, practices and programs. This is true for businesses, faith communities, non-profits and governments alike.

While Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is neither the first person of color nor the first woman of color to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, she is the first Black woman. As a Black woman in America, she bears the lived experience of the intersectionality of race and gender from a very particular historical perspective. Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson represents, in the words of Dr. Maya Angelou’s poem Still I Rise (1978), “the dream and the hope of the slave.” As the daughter of parents who fought against Jim Crow segregation, and as the newest member of the U.S. Supreme Court, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson represents the best ideals of American democracy and the values of equity, inclusion and diversity. She carries the historical knowledge of laws, policies and practices that held Black Americans in the position of second-class citizenship. Now she will serve from the very bench that overturned racially unjust laws in this nation, from Jim Crow segregation to voter disenfranchisement and school segregation.

For many, this is a hopeful and overdue moment of inclusion, visibility and representation. We rejoice in it! And God calls us to do more. We are not yet a nation that fully reflects and represents all the gifts of diversity. We must not waiver from the commitment of forming a more perfect union. As the ELCA, we too cannot waiver in our quest to increase diversity within congregations, synods and the churchwide organization.

We can notice the people, voices and experiences that are missing from our programs and our leadership. We can support a culture and climate where all people are free to bring their most authentic selves to work. We can expand and share power and voice in decision-making authority by listening to and following the lead of historically marginalized groups. To counter the narratives of negative stereotypes, we can engage in unconscious bias and other Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) trainings both internally and externally. We can intentionally recruit, retain and support leaders that represent historically marginalized groups. We can each champion justice by putting the values of diversity, equity and inclusion into our daily practice because representation matters.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Judith E.B. Roberts is Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion with the ELCA

A Holy Confluence: A Reminder of our Interconnection

By Kristen Opalinski

For the first time in decades we are witnessing a confluence of significant religious holy days and cultural traditions during the month of April.

As Christians move through Holy Week, we do so knowing that many of our neighbors of other religions are also journeying through their holy days, including Vaisakhi, Mahavir Jayanti, Passover, Ramadan, and Theravada New Year. For Muslims, Jews, Christians, Baha’is, Sikhs, Hindus, Jains, Buddhists, and others, this moment of convergence serves as a reminder of our interconnectedness.

As members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America this is also a time to remember the commitments we have made as a church through “A Declaration of Inter-Religious Commitment: A policy statement of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America/ Declaración de compromiso interreligioso: Una declaración de política de la Iglesia Evangélica Luterana en América” which was adopted at the 2019 ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

We lift up the first of these commitments (p.10) in this moment of holy confluence:

1. The ELCA will pray for the well-being of our wonderfully diverse human family, including our neighbors of other religions and worldviews (ELW, Prayer for the Human Family, p. 79)

Prayer for the Human Family

O God of all, with wonderful diversity of languages and cultures you created all people in your image. Free us from prejudice and fear, that we might see your face in the faces of people around the world; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

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We invite you to read about the ways our partners and others are reflecting upon this time:

Spring 2022 Messaging Campaign — The Shoulder to Shoulder Campaign

This April, Chicago has a rare opportunity for interfaith cooperation – Chicago Sun-Times (suntimes.com)

The Confluence of Holy Seasons: An Opportunity to Grow Together (nationalcouncilofchurches.us)

Home – Religions for Peace (rfp.org)

Kristen L. Opalinski serves as the Manager for Ecumenical and Inter-Religious Relations for the ELCA

Title 42 Points to Need for Humane Asylum System

By Giovana Oaxaca, ELCA program director for migration

The announcement of the Biden administration of an end date for Title 42 is a welcome step forward towards restoring access to the right to seek asylum. Rather than promote a safe, orderly or humane process, Title 42 wound up increasing risk and vulnerability. Our Lutheran tradition teaches “hospitality for the uprooted is a way to live out the biblical call to love the neighbor in response to God’s love in Jesus Christ” (ELCA social message on “Immigration,” pg. 3). The human repercussions of Title 42 will be felt for years to come. Hopefully this moment can redirect our policymakers towards rebuilding a humane asylum system.

REQUESTING ASYLUM

Asking for asylum at the border is a right guaranteed under the Refugee Protection Act of 1980, as well as a right widely recognized as a U.S. international obligation. It is a lifeline many vulnerable migrants rely on when they reach ports of entry, usually as a last resort and after having travelled hundreds of miles by foot to escape personal danger. An asylee is an individual who meets the international definition of refugee – a person with well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership in a particular social group, who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war or violence. In the United States, asylum seekers apply for protection from inside the country or at a port of entry.

WHAT IS TITLE 42

Title 42 is a part of an U.S. public health code that authorizes the federal government to take “emergency action” to prevent the spread of communicable diseases, a power first invoked by President Trump in March 2020. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued an order under Title 42 barring certain noncitizens arriving at U.S. borders, even over the objection of leading public health officials in the CDC who saw no valid public health rationale to issue the order.

The public health effectiveness of this measure is questionable. In the United States, community spread was far more likely to be the source of transmission than newcomers. During the time Title 42 has been in effect, millions of people have continued to legally cross the U.S.-Mexico border at ports of entry for tourism and work. People continue to travel to the United States and to foreign countries by plane with little fanfare. Some have argued that Title 42 authority has been used far beyond its intended use as a public health measure.

WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW

On April 1, the CDC officially announced May 23 as an end date for Title 42. A potential increase in the number of border encounters is anticipated with this policy shift due to demand and expected seasonal fluctuations.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released a comprehensive strategy in anticipation of the expected high volume of arrivals as Title 42 ends. The strategy is a blueprint for ramping up operational capacity, deploying more staff and resources, creating new processing centers and making asylum processing more efficient. The United States is also preparing a new system of adjudicating asylum decision. Of note, it advances an integrated regional approach to migration management. Unfortunately, it relies too heavily on raising the costs of migration instead of working to address the underlying drivers of migration.

Migrants, advocates in the faith community and public health experts have exhaustively argued that restoring asylum and protecting public health can be done together. The U.S. has the ability and resources to welcome humanely, efficiently and safely. Welcoming people in need of refuge is woven into the U.S.’ national identity. Lutheran experience in the United States reflects the continuity of this movement, as at one point after World War II one out of every six Lutherans was a refugee.

The bluntness of Title 42 underlines the U.S. immigration system’s penchant for neglecting human dignity and deflecting responsibility for humane border management. Its uneven use calls into the question even the public health rationale it purported to have. “Too often we perpetuate the racism, the fear of, and the animosity towards newcomers that show themselves in our society,” reads the ELCA “Immigration” social message (pg. 1). Between March 2020 and March 2022, Title 42 was used over 1.7 million times to expel migrants back to Mexico by land and by plane to Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Haiti, Brazil and Columbia.

Even now, Congress is considering an amendment to a COVID-19 supplemental bill that would reinstate Title 42. Historically, exclusionary policies have been most pronounced during moments of social anxiety. However, the choice is not to double down, but to reach out with grace and work towards the common good. Martin Luther once said, “I will give myself as a kind of Christ to my neighbor, just as Christ offered himself to me. I will do nothing in this life except what I see will be necessary, advantageous, and salutary for my neighbor, because through faith I am overflowing with all good things in Christ” (The Freedom of a Christian, pg. 29).

UNTOLD HUMAN SUFFERING

There many reasons Title 42 exacerbates human suffering. A paper by the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) underscores how long-term measures to close borders only reduce options for safe and regular migration and may increase the likelihood of irregular migration, smuggling and trafficking, especially as the drivers of migration increase.

Crossings have turned increasingly deadly as migrants have attempted to enter without inspection outside of ports of entry. A June 2021 report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) also acknowledged that Title 42 expulsions have led to “some individuals trying to cross the border multiple times per day.” Owing to the exception for unaccompanied children, the use of Title 42 has also driven families to separate in the desperate attempt to send their children to safety in the United States. No family should ever have to make such a tragic choice.

Migrants are exposed to extraordinary danger upon return. Human Rights First published a report identifying 9,886 reports of kidnapping, torture, rape and other violent attacks on people blocked or expelled to Mexico due to the Title 42 policy. In Mexico, stranded Black migrants and migrants of African descent reported frequent racially motivated attacks and harassment.

According to the IOM the vast majority of Haitians were returned to “highly vulnerable situations with few if any resources” to Haiti, a country most had not lived in recently or at all. Returned and deported migrants to Guatemala and Honduras were equally vulnerable. Some NGOs, including ELCA AMMPARO companions Asociacion Pop No’j and the Mennonite Central Action Committee in Honduras, were able to assist, although COVID-19 set-backs and the sheer scale was considerable.

LEGAL QUESTIONS

Legal scholars have continuously called into question the validity of the CDC’s order, given that it supersedes congressional intent by granting the CDC near unilateral power to decide who can be deported. At a minimum, Title 42 is not consistent with U.S refugee law or treaty obligations under Article 33 of 1951 Refugee Convention. Article 33 prohibits expulsions back to countries where a person’s life is in danger (what’s known as a nonrefoulement obligation). The United States ratified the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees, creating an obligation back to the 1951 Refugee Convention. At least two high-ranking government officials have resigned over the categorical expulsions they saw as inhumane and illegal, especially to the country of Haiti. The prevailing international standard on deportations prohibits collective expulsion back to danger and urges a dignified returned and reintegration process (Objective 21 of the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration).

Huisha-Huisha v. Mayorkas challenges the overall use of Title 42 to return families back to danger. The D.C. Circuit Court on March 4, 2022 ruled in Huisha-Huisha that the government cannot use the public health order to expel families back to countries where they are likely to suffer persecution or torture. The Huisha-Huisha ruling dropped just as district court in Texas issued another ruling on Title 42 in Texas v. Biden blocking the ongoing Title 42 exemptions for unaccompanied children. The Biden administration averted having to expel unaccompanied children by officially terminating Title 42 expulsions for unaccompanied children on March 21. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees condemns any measure that infringes on the right to ask asylum. Public health experts argue that evidence-based public health safeguards like the use of vaccines, masks, hand sanitizer and other screening tools are strong countermeasures so that Title 42 is not necessary.

On the other hand, following the CDC order terminating Title 42 by May 23, the states of Missouri, Arizona, and Louisiana jointly sued the Biden administration for failure to rescind Title 42 through the proper procedure. While governing authorities have the responsibility to protect the nation’s borders and maintain its security, Title 42 goes too far.

ADDITIONAL POLICY RECONSIDERATION

Soon, the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to hear a case over the Biden administration’s rescission, or repeal, of the Migration Protection Protocols (MPP). MPP, known as “Remain in Mexico,” leads to people who are legally seeking protection being stranded in perilous conditions in Mexico while they await their court hearing. MPP deprives migrants their opportunity to have their cases fully and fairly considered. This is a deeply flawed program that exposes children, families and vulnerable migrants to serious harm.

VISION FOR BETTER

The experience of Title 42 shows that the solution to human struggle and migration is not deterrence-based mechanisms, but addressing the drivers of migration, creating safe and orderly pathways to migrate, strengthening access to protection, and retooling how the government provides reception for those who are forced to come to the border. Any strategy must not bank on deterrence at U.S. borders or even within countries of transit to mitigate the flow of people migrating to save their lives, in search of opportunity or to reunify with family. International coordination and collaboration are essential for any effective migration policy.

Our faith is the strongest compass we have for guidance on how to treat newcomers. Scripture calls us to love our neighbor: “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:34). ELCA social teaching describes our serving presence in society that “holds power accountable, advocates justice, stands with those who are poor and vulnerable, provides sanctuary, and meets human needs” (ELCA social statement For Peace in God’s World, pg. 5).

WHAT’S NEXT

We must continue to show support for restoring access to asylum and continuing the U.S.’ legacy of providing refuge as consistent with U.S. law and international agreements. Some lawmakers support keeping Title 42 over concerns about border security. People’s lives cannot be used to escalate reliance on detention, deportation and border militarization, or to try to dismantle the asylum and refugee system.

While lawmakers will likely never reach a consensus on what a secure border looks like, we can agree that essential immigration reforms must be made – and Title 42 proved to be an unjust and harmful policy. Beyond just denying access to asylum, Title 42 engenders the conditions for an even greater humanitarian crisis at the border and in countries of origin. Communities of faith, through ELCA AMMPARO and across the ELCA, are ready to work together to address the plight of migrants.

Lutheran congregations have responded to newcomer neighbors, welcoming people fleeing conflict in Southeast Asia, war, targeted violence in Central America and very recently have welcomed Afghan families displaced by conflict and Ukrainians in Eastern Europe. This love of our neighbor is our steady guide in uncertain and difficult times.