• Who We Are
    • Who We Are
    • Mission
    • History
    • General Synod
    • Leadership and Ministry
    • Staff
    • United Church of Christ Board
  • What We Believe
    • What We Believe
    • Worship Ways
    • Daily Devotional
  • What We Do
    • What We Do
    • Office of the General Minister & President
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • Wider Church Ministries
  • News
  • Church Finder
  • Donate Now
  • Search
UCC Logo United Church of Christ
  • Church Finder
  • Events
  • Contact
  • Store
  • Frontline Faith Portal
  • Donate Now
  • Search
  • Who We Are
    • Column
      • About
        • Mission
        • Constitution and Bylaws
        • History
          • UCC Archives
        • UCC Brand Guidelines
        • General Synod
          • Synod 33 Worship Videos
          • Past General Synods
        • Abuse Prevention
    • Column
      • Structure
        • Conferences
        • Affiliated Ministries
          • The Pension Boards
          • Cornerstone Fund
          • Insurance Board
          • The Council for Health and Human Services Ministries
          • Church Building & Loan Fund
          • Convergence
    • Column
      • Team
        • Elected Officers
        • Staff
        • United Church of Christ Board
          • Board Minutes
        • Office of General Counsel
        • UCCOSSN
    • Column
      • Career Opportunities
      • Annual Reports
  • What We Believe
    • Column
      • Worship
        • Statement of Faith of the United Church of Christ – La Declaración de Fe de la Iglesia Unida de Cristo
        • Worship Ways
        • Daily Devotional
        • Sermon Seeds
  • How We Serve
    • Column
      • Office of the General Minister & President
        • Welcome to Human Resources
          • Employee Relations Resources
        • Center for Analytics, Research & Development and Data (CARDD)
          • General CARDD FAQs
          • About The Center for Analytics, Research & Development, and Data (CARDD)
          • Authorized Minister Opt Out
          • Access UCC
          • Archived Reports
          • Assessment Resources
          • Information Policies and Requests
          • Faith Communities Today (FACT) Survey
          • MissionInsite
          • Statistics and Reports
          • Vital Signs and Statistics Blog
          • Data Hub FAQs
          • Data Hub
          • Yearbook and Directory
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Justice
          • Faithful Action Ministries
            • Environmental Justice Ministries
            • Economic Justice
            • Racial Justice
          • Office of Public Policy & Advocacy in Washington D.C.
            • Justice and Peace Action Network
            • Our Faith Our Vote
            • Justice Training Resources
            • Action Center
          • Health and Wholeness Advocacy
            • Disabilities and Mental Health Justice
            • Encuentros Latinx
            • UCC HIV & AIDS Network-UCAN
            • LGBTQ Ministries
            • Our Whole Lives
            • Overdose and Drug Use Ministries
            • Scouting
            • Wellness Ministries
          • The Pilgrim Press & Stillspeaking Publications
    • Column
      • Justice & Local Church Ministries
        • Local Church
          • The Faith Education, Innovation and Formation (Faith INFO)Team
            • Weekly Seeds
            • Youth & Young Adults
          • Worship Resources
            • Worship Ways
            • Sermon Seeds
            • Synod 33 Worship Videos
            • Music and Liturgical Arts
          • Stewardship & Generosity Resources
          • Ministerial Excellence, Support & Authorization (MESA)
            • History, Polity, and Theology
            • Search and Call
            • Ministerial Profiles
            • Ministry Opportunities
            • Manual on Ministry
    • Column
      • Wider Church Ministries
        • Global Ministries
        • Global H.O.P.E.
          • Volunteer Ministries
          • Refugee and Migration Ministries
          • Disaster Ministries
          • Recovering Hope
        • Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations
  • Resources
  • News
    • Column
      • News
        • United Church of Christ News
    • Column
      • Columns
        • Witness for Justice
        • Into the Mystic
        • Getting to the Root of It
        • The Pollinator: UCC Environmental Justice Blog
        • UCC Roots
        • Encounters at the Well
        • Reflexiones
    • Column
      • Upcoming Events
        • Webinars
      • Subscriptions at the United Church of Christ
      • Changes & Deaths
  • Giving
    • Column
      • Donate Now
      • Ways to Give
        • Giving Tuesday
        • General Synod 2021 Thursday in Black Offering
        • General Synod 2021 Racial Justice Offering
        • Disaster Ministries: How to Give
        • Our Church’s Wider Mission
          • Our Church’s Wider Mission Basic Support
          • Strengthen the Church
          • One Great Hour of Sharing
          • Neighbors in Need
          • Christmas Fund
          • 5 for 5
    • Column
      • Ways We Give
        • Scholarships & Grants

  • Home
  • News
  • Column
  • Witness for Justice
  • Asylum is a Human Right
Witness for Justice

Asylum is a Human Right

by Noel Andersen | published on Jan 12, 2023

On December 24th, while many of us were focused on our Christmas Eve services, dozens of migrants seeking asylum showed up at Vice President Kamala Harris’s door in Washington, DC in the middle of the cold night. They had been sent by Texas Governor Gregg Abbott. While we celebrated the Christmas story of a refugee family finding shelter in a stable for the birth of baby Jesus, migrants along their journey were used as political pawns.

As we prepare to celebrate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s life and legacy, and as we reflect on Governor Gregg Abbot’s actions, which have been joined by Governor DeSantis of Florida, we also remember the history of “Reverse Freedom Rides.” This entailed segregationists busing African Americans from the South to the doorsteps of their political targets in Northern cities with false promises of housing and jobs. It is abundantly clear that the current politics at the Southern border are intricately tied to this country’s history of racism.

Dr. King’s prophetic words ring as true today as they did in the era he lived through. Although there is clear progress in our laws and infrastructure to combat discrimination, the ongoing struggle for justice continues. The quest for basic human rights is still a revolutionary venture: “I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits.” These words came from King’s Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo, Norway in 1964. The ability to flee persecution and seek asylum has been a critical component to human rights infrastructure, which has been rapidly eviscerated, first by the Trump administration, and now by President Biden. 

As thousands of UCC congregations continue to advocate for policies that welcome immigrants, oftentimes inviting asylum seekers into their congregations and homes, this administration continues to take plays from the Trump era of anti-asylum policies. New policies that are currently being rolled out include the expansion of expedited removal for those who arrive at ports of entry along the border and a five-year reentry ban on migrants whose claim for protection is denied. Sponsorship and travel requirements for humanitarian parole of Cubans, Haitians, and Nicaraguans will leave vulnerable populations without a path to safety, while those with financial means will have an advantage. As President Biden reflects on his trip to the US-Mexico border, we pray that he, as a Christian, remembers the Christmas story of a refugee family seeking safety. Instead of denying people their right to claim asylum, which violates the US Refugee Act, we call on this administration to create a robust, humane reception system with adequate funding to shelter and provide the case management that asylum seekers so desperately need. As people of faith, let us continue to work towards Dr. King’s vision of the beloved community, where all are truly welcomed and treated with dignity, equity, and justice.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Reverend Noel Andersen is the Coordinator for the Immigration National Collaborative on Immigration for the United Church of Christ.

View this and other columns on the UCC’s Witness for Justice page.
Donate to support Witness for Justice.
Click here to download the bulletin insert.

Categories: Column Witness for Justice

Sign Up For Our Newsletter








Privacy Policy






Related News

Witness for Justice
Witness for Justice

Democracy Still Needs Us

Many advocates for a strong, robust democratic process were breathing a cautious sigh of...

Read More
Into the Mystic

The Lights of the City

Listen to the...

Read More
Witness for Justice
Witness for Justice

Howard Thurman: Civil Rights Era Sage

“There is something in every one of you that waits, listens for the sound of the genuine in...

Read More
  • Column
    • Local Church and Conference Resource Directory
    • Mission
    • Justice & Local Church Ministries
    • General Synod Resolutions
  • Column
    • Contact
    • News
    • Store

Content on ucc.org is copyrighted by the National Setting of the United Church of Christ and may be only shared according to the guidelines outlined here.

1300 E. 9th Street, Suite 1100
Cleveland, Ohio 44114

  • Follow us on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter
  • Follow us on Instagram
  • Subscribe on YouTube

Donate Now


UCC Crest
© United Church of Christ 2023. Privacy Policy.
Crafted by Cornershop Creative