United States (MNN) — In the U.S., green cards signify lawful permanent residency. But under the new U.S. administration, green card holders are concerned that if they travel internationally or even domestically, they might be detained or denied entry on their way home.
These uncertainties are disrupting ministry as well as family life. One gospel worker with FMI says, “I’m not able to make any solid or concrete plan with our overseas partners.”
He adds that it’s not only international travel in question. “I’m not even sure that I would be able to go and defend my PhD paper to [an]other state next month, because it’s unsure that I would be able to participate in my PhD graduation or not.”
Green card example (Photo courtesy of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) – Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons)
An upcoming FMI conference in Pakistan will likely be impossible for him to attend as originally planned. Meanwhile, his family carries copies of their documentation wherever they go. They are also preparing to give a power of attorney to a colleague in case the unexpected happens.
It’s caused serious conversations around their family dinner table. What country should they go to if they were to be deported? What should their kids do if they were to be stopped by an officer?
“As a Christian, I have only two commands: you should love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your strength, and you should love the neighbor as yourself,” he says. “But the question is, as an immigrant in America, who is my neighbor? Because that’s going to be defined ideologically, territorially, nationally, and all these series of divisive elements.
“I think one of the problems we have right now [is] that we have to have an enemy to create a national policy. But as Christians, we do not have — or we cannot have — any enemy.”
For others who are caught in these same uncertainties today, he points to the hope found in Joshua 1:9: “The last part of this verse is ‘for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.’”
Find your place in the story through prayer. Ask God to give FMI and this gospel worker discernment and protection to navigate complex circumstances. Pray with him that his kids will be strong Christian witnesses as they respond to comments and questions from classmates.
For his ministry, he says, “Pray especially for clarity and favor as I plan ministry-related trips for FMI and to expand the Kingdom.”
Header photo is a stock photo courtesy of stokpic via Pixabay.
