Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Politics and Religion
Immigrants are Your Neighbor. They are in Danger

Immigrants are Your Neighbor. They are in Danger

Last updated on: October 1, 2025 at 1:04 am by Mary Pezzulo

0 Comments

Immigrants are Your Neighbor. They are in Danger 2025-10-01T01:04:58-04:00 Mary Pezzulo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I don’t even know how to write about all the political news lately.

I am at a loss, because if you can’t see how wrong this is, I have no idea how to reach you.

In 2016, it was different. When people were claiming that Trump wasn’t a very good person but that electing him would make abortion magically go away forever, and was therefore the good Christian choice, I thought maybe I could convince them they were wrong. Abortion rates have been rising since 2017, and they only got worse after Dobbs, so I thought people would listen to me in 2024, but they didn’t. In fact, the situation got worse: Trump’s supporters had decided that he was actually an exemplary person. They weren’t voting for him in spite of his faults. They thought he didn’t have any. I don’t think any of the remaining MAGA voters are reachable now. But I don’t know how I can live with myself if I don’t say something.

I don’t know how to explain, if you don’t already know, that hurting your neighbor is wrong. That’s a statement that’s so obvious to me, I shouldn’t have to say it.

And I don’t know how to explain that according to the Gospel, the definition of “neighbor” isn’t “someone who lives near you” or “someone in your peer group, it’s “the person who needs your help.” In fact, to be a neighbor, according to the Gospel, is to help the very person that your culture tells you you ought to despise. Your neighbor is the helpless person that the powerful are pointing to and saying “this is a bad person, and all your problems are their fault.”

I’m at a loss to get through to you, that immigrants are your neighbors.

Yes, even illegal immigrants. There’s no “they should have followed the rules” exception to an immigrant being your neighbor. All have sinned. All have fallen short. You, yourself, are a sinner, and so am I. God forgave you and gave you a clean slate. That’s the mercy you should show your immigrant neighbor.

A country has a right and a duty to make laws to protect its citizens from harm, including by harm committed by people from other countries. It’s reasonable to have a vetting process to make sure the people coming to your country are unlikely to commit crimes. That process will probably involve only entering the country a certain way, and perhaps being detained for a certain amount of time. That’s reasonable. Immigrants who break that law should face a penalty of some kind. Immigrants who were in the country legally and then committed a violent or dangerous crime, might well be forced to leave the country. You and I can fight over exactly what kinds of rules and penalties there should be, and neither of us is necessarily a bad person. But human beings don’t forfeit their humanity by becoming immigrants. Immigrants are human beings with rights. And they are your neighbor.

I don’t know how to explain that Christ is present with you, in your neighbor.

The way you treat your neighbor is the way you treat Christ.

One day, you will see the face of Christ, and either He will say to you “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” Or, He won’t.

That is going to happen.

Right now, in America, your neighbor, Christ, the immigrant, is in danger.

Right now, all three branches of the the United States government are under the control of the Republican party. The Republican party, at least at this point in history, keeps claiming that they’re the protectors and promoters of Christianity against the godless left. And the Republican party is also doing everything it can to persecute immigrants.

I’m not talking about enforcing our laws. We can have a conversation later about whether our laws are right or wrong. I’m talking about behaving lawlessly, dangerously and cruelly, for no reason other than to abuse immigrants.

I’m talking about shackling and arresting law-abiding immigrants at their Green Card hearing, mocking their tears, and making them disappear.

I’m talking about shackling comatose and dying immigrants to hospital beds.

I’m talking about terrorizing children.

Violating immigrants’ free speech rights.

Handcuffing innocent people without probable cause.

Arresting people without warrants or probable cause.

Assaulting journalists who attempt to exercise their right to free speech and their duty to inform the public.

Attacking clerics who protest at the Immigration facilities.

Abusing citizens who look like they might be immigrants, whether they turn out to be immigrants or not.

These things are wrong, they’re getting much worse, and they’re going to get worse still.

If you’re not convinced these things are wrong, I don’t think there’s anything more I can say to get through to you. But I feel that my own soul would be in danger if I didn’t tell you what was happening anyway.

Christ, your neighbor, is being abused and terrorized by our government. We have to stand up against this and do everything in our power to make it stop.

Mary Pezzulo is the author of Meditations on the Way of the Cross, The Sorrows an d Joys of Mary, and Stumbling into Grace: How We Meet God in Tiny Works of Mercy.

Steel Magnificat operates almost entirely on tips. To tip the author, donate to “The Little Portion” on paypal or Mary Pezzulo on venmo

Politics and Religion

Religion News

Previous Post

September 26, 2025

If I Was There, If I Was There

Next Post

October 3, 2025 A Picture of God

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"You're talking about supercessionism, the idea that Christians "replace" the covenant that the Jewish people ..."

Alex

Yes, the Old Testament is About ..."

"Oh I'm sure it did."

Mary

A Televised Execution is a Moral, ..."

"For what its worth, it seems like the whole thing originated from Pete Hegsith speaking ..."

Evil-Striker

A Televised Execution is a Moral, ..."

"You may be right. A war and its aftermath are different than day-to-day governance. Still, ..."

Mary

On Traditionalist Bullies, and the Death ..."

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Abuse Advent America American Christianity angel angels Annunciation Appalachia apparition apparition chaser apparition chasers apparition culture art art review babies baby baby Jesus Bad Lip Reading bad statue contest bath beauty Bible story blog blogkeeping blood book review Brandon Sanderson breastfeeding bus Catholic catholic conspiracy alarmism Catholic Oppositional Disorder Charismatic Renewal Charlie the Cat chastity Christ Christian idenitity Christianity and Judaism Chronic Illness clean clothing COD piece comedy compassion conscience conspiracy theory conversion cop-on-black violence Crucifixion cry of the poor culture Daesh Daily Saints death death penalty devotional diaconate diaper diapers dirty disability Donald Trump Dorothy Day dream drugs Eastern Catholicism Eastern Christianity education election election update Elsewhere on Patheos empathy environment Fear feminism film review fish flashback fluffy buns food Franciscan University of Steubenville Friendship Room fun Gabriel gardening gospel hair-splitting Heaven hell heresy Hillary Clinton history Holly the Witch Holy Spirit holy war Homeschooling homosexuality horror human dignity humor Icon idol immigrants infection inter-religious dialogue Interpretation of Scripture Islam Jesus Jihad Joseph joy laity and lay vocations lamb dinner laundry lent lgbtq literature love manners Mary Medicine and Science Meditation mercy mess milk misogyny Missouri monasticism monster motherhood mourn with those mourn movies movis music mystery nature neurodiversity New Pro-Life Movement news nonsense nostalgia O antiphons obituary objectification Ohio Valley Ordinary Time ordination Ordo Amoris parable paradox Passover peanut butter personal beliefs pets philosophy Planet Charismatic poetry politics polls poop Pope Francis Pope Leo power in the Church prayer prayer request prayers preferential option for non-violence president presidential election priest primary private revelation pro-life prophecy Public face of Catholicism Pure Flix Q and A race racism random rape rape. sexuality reader's request Reckoners refugee religious trauma ressurrection Right to life Saints saints and celebrations same-sex same-sex marriage satire scandal secular feasts seder Seven Joys Seven Last Words sex sexual ethics sexuality silencing six months skid row slavery social justice Speculative fiction spiritual abuse spoon stain story suffering suffrage suffragette Sunday Gospel temple Tenebrae Responsories Terror the exorcist The Friendship Room The New Pro-Life Movement Things I Learned on the Internet tin cup traffic true story tv review Uncategorized USCCB vice and temptation violence Virtue virtue and vice war Way of the Cross whimsy whole life women's ordination work of mercy Year A

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What city is considered holy by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Antioch Rome Paris Jerusalem