Evangelicals Pressure Trump To Release Detainees

By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News  

(Worthy News) – U.S. President Donald Trump has come under evangelical pressure to release people from immigration detention centers amid concerns the new coronavirus will spread in the overcrowded facilities. Nine leaders of evangelical groups urged the Trump administration to release those “who do not pose a threat to public safety” during the coronavirus pandemic.

In a letter to Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, the evangelicals mentioned especially “those who are elderly or otherwise at higher risk” for contracting the virus, COVID-19. “Our concern is rooted in our Christian belief that each human life is made in the image of God and thus precious,” they wrote. “And, like you, we want to do everything possible to minimize the loss of life as a result of this pandemic.”  

Their call comes in a year when President Trump seeks re-election with support from evangelical voters. But he also campaigned on a tough-on-illegal-migration platform. However, the evangelicals writing the letter said they would encourage “the many churches and ministries” within their networks to help released detainees find safe shelters.

The letter was signed by Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention; Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals; and Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Council, among others.

Rodriguez said a prayer at President Trump’s inauguration and has advised him on immigration. But Rodriguez also criticized
aspects of the Trump administration’s immigration policy.

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