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Border & Migration Conference

The Borders & Migration Studies Association hosted its inaugural conference in McAllen, Texas. The conference gathered activist, faith leaders, and scholars from a variety of universities and seminaries. As an interdisciplinary conference, this was a time to learn, dialogue, and experience first-hand the stories of migration from refugees.


The conference began with a border immersion trip. We walked across the international bridge over the Rio Grande and saw the asylum process. There were refugees from Russia, Ukraine, Haiti, and many others from the regions of Mexico and Latin America. The “Remain in Mexico” policy prevents any refugee from petitioning an asylum claim on U.S. soil. The entire border is militarized, and one cannot pass through the border without undergoing various checkpoints that are guarded by the Mexican military and the US Border Patrol.


Perhaps the most moving part of the conference, which gave me a mixed emotion of sadness and despair, included the visit to the refugee centers in Reynosa, Mexico. This is where hundreds of asylum seekers must live in tents or make-shift homes. Some of the refugees that I met have been waiting up to 10 months just to have their case heard. One particular story was of a young woman named Daria. She had been living in the refugee camp for seven months and shared with me her story of hope and faith in God. She had a niece named Isabell who was 7 years old and was also staying with her. I could not help but consider my own daughter who has a similar name and is of the same age.


Another mother had recently given birth to a baby named Blanca while she was migrating through Mexico. I got a chance to hold this precious baby and pray over her a prayer that I give to my children. The prayer includes the petition that the “angel of the Lord would protect and guide her steps.” Other two men that I met included Joel and Antonio. They both left behind their family and were fleeing from the violence and difficulties of their home country in Honduras.


Visiting the refugee centers showed me the best of humanity, but also the worst of what this world has done to our fellow human beings. I witnessed migrants clinging on to hope with all their strength. And this also made me become enraged with our world that villainizes migrants and disregards their pleas for help.


During the conference I was able to speak about the story of migration from the Bible. I explained how the Bible is a story that begins and ends with migration. The book of Genesis commences with the exile of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and ends with the book of Revelation that describes the people of God being called to migrate again, but this time to Jerusalem, their heavenly city. I reviewed various stories in the Bible and discussed the challenges of migration that the patriarchs experienced. Overall, this was a wonderful opportunity to share recent research, especially how the Bible provides practical theological guidance to the problem of migration.


Being in Texas helped me realize that what we hear in the media does not match what we see on the ground. To put it another way, the border is not open but very militarized. It felt like I was entering a prison as I walked across the international bridge over the Rio Grande River. Additionally, the conditions of these migrants are very difficult, and would be unbearable for many of us. But despite these conditions, these refugees embodied the virtue of hope, faith, and resilience. These migrants face many challenges in finding work and must patiently wait many months for their asylum cases to be heard. However, they all possess this unbreakable faith in God and in a new life on the other side of the border, a life that they can see through the barbed wire but cannot yet grasp. They leave behind everything they have known for a land they may never call home.


If you want to support these migrants and others, please consider donating to the Practice Mercy foundation. I was able to meet and talk the founder, Alma Ruth. She is bold, compassionate, and reflects the true essence of the Gospel. I am thankful to have been invited and grateful for this life changing experience.