July 6-12, 2025

Rev. Michael J. McNair

Pastor, First A.M.E. Zion Church

President Donald J. Trump campaigned on implementing the largest mass deportation effort in American history. “As soon as I take the oath of office,” Trump said on July 24, “we will begin the largest deportation operation in the history of our country.”  He promised that he would first go after those undocumented persons who were members of the MS-13 gang and those who had been convicted of crimes. Vice President-elect JD Vance said deporting criminals would be the administration’s initial focus.  So, it was no surprise that after Trump was elected, he set out to deliver on his promise. He ordered the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to ramp up its arrest and deportation of those persons who were considered to be living illegally in this country.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are rounding up people who are not criminals. Agents — often masked and refusing to identify themselves — are seizing people at worksites, convenience stores, farms, and courthouses.

Individuals who follow the law and show up for their immigration court dates are being arrested. Plain-clothed ICE agents wait for them in the lobby to kidnap them as they exit a hearing. In the streets and workplaces, agents cover their faces and refuse to offer a name or badge number as they harass and arrest people for simply looking Hispanic. 

Deportation can separate families, leaving behind emotional distress and economic hardship, especially for mixed-status families where some members are citizens or legal residents while others are undocumented.

Being in the U.S. without documentation is not a crime, but rather a civil offense. The individuals being arrested often have been working to gain legal status while raising families, holding necessary jobs, and paying taxes. It is morally wrong to deny anyone due process of law. The word of God states in Deuteronomy 27:19 (NLT) 19 “Cursed is anyone who denies justice to foreigners, orphans, or widows.”

As people of faith and goodwill, we must help those who are being treated so inhumanely by speaking out from the pulpit and publicly about the manner in which immigrants are being treated. We must fight the politics of cruelty that dehumanize people who are only trying to make a better life for themselves and their families.