Thread by @MatthewSoerens

"What can we do to stop this?"

The question any Christian should be asking

368 days ago, I was in DC, on Capitol Hill for a World Refugee Day fly-in with pastors meeting Members of Congress

In every office, the phone was ringing off the hook [thread]

worldrelief.org/call-to-reunit…

https://twitter.com/Tish_H_Warren/status/1142596309326737408

I could only hear one side of the conversations, the receptionist (usually a college-aged intern or young staffer) explaining to a passionate constituent:

"Oh no, he's absolutely against taking kids from their moms"

"The Congresswoman is firmly opposed to separating families"

The same conversations in both Republican and Democratic offices. This was the Administration's policy, not Congress'. But people reached out to their Members of Congress, including a lot of upset Christians, & apparently they got the message to the White House

That was June 19

The president insisted that his hands were tied: this was simply the law

But, of course, the law hadn't changed: his administration had decided to forbid prosecutors from exercising discretion, as all other administrations had, which created the family separation crisis

By June 20, I was on the border in front of a tent city for kid in Tornillo, TX

(I actually talked to Tish on the phone on my Lyft ride there)

And I got word: the President was going to sign an Executive Order withdrawing the zero tolerance policy that was separating families

The public pressure worked

It might be the only instance when it has worked on an immigration issue (we've not seen that level of passionate outrcy about the rescission of DACA or the near decimation or the refugee resettlement program, sadly)

But the president reversed course

I'm convinced it was in significant part evangelicals' advocacy that made the difference, because the White House realized it was losing even the white evangelical voters who had been among the most loyal supporters, as polls would later demonstrate prri.org/spotlight/a-cr…

I'm praying that evangelicals (whether they voted for Trump or Clinton or neither) will speak up loudly now, alongside others, to insist that kids need to be treated humanely & not be detained; that our asylum laws should be respected; & that families should not be separated

Find and call your Member of Congress: worldrelief.org/call-to-reunit…

Fill the voicemail box over the weekend. Call again on Monday. And every day till it stops

And give, so when kids are finally released, more can access legal counsel to increase the odds they win their asylum cases

Basic messages:

1) we must respect our asylum laws

2) appropriate funds to care decently for kids

3) but also get kids (& parents) out of custody as quickly as possible, not in Mexico (which isn’t safe & where there’s no legal counsel) but with their family/ friends in the US

&, though it’s a separate issue, the president has also threatened to deport millions of families from within the US (today, he said he’d hold off 2 weeks)

While he doesn’t have the capacity to do that, it’s a key moment to point to better solutions, like join.evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/signup