Hope in Action: Navigating Immigration with Faith and Care

Why don’t people just come the legal way? Is crossing the border a crime? Does marrying a U.S. citizen fix someone’s immigration status? And if someone has lived here for decades, worked, paid taxes, and stayed out of trouble, why can’t they simply apply for citizenship? These are some of the questions we’ve received over the last few weeks, so for our season three finale, we’re answering them.

In this Q&A episode, we unpack some of the most common questions and misconceptions surrounding immigration, from the limited legal pathways available to the difference between immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. We also talk about mixed-status families, what “get in line” actually means, why marriage or having a U.S. citizen child does not automatically solve someone’s immigration problems, and what can happen while an immigration case is still pending.

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How do you stay informed about immigration without becoming overwhelmed, angry, or numb? When the headlines keep bringing more fear, policy changes, and stories of suffering, it can feel impossible to look away without becoming indifferent, but just as impossible to keep absorbing it all. And somewhere in the middle of that tension is another question: where do we find hope and even joy when the hard things are still happening?

In this episode, we’re joined by Stephen and Susan Beck, who have spent decades living, serving, and building Christian community across cultures in Canada, Germany, and now Minneapolis. They share what they’ve learned from welcoming immigrants and refugees into their church and home, what their congregation did when people in their community were afraid to leave their homes, and why hospitality is about much more than simply helping someone in need.

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What comes to mind when you hear the words the border? Maybe it’s walls, barbed wire, Border Patrol agents, or families waiting to be processed. But behind those familiar images are human beings on every side, and a reality that’s much more complicated than the slogans we hear about securing, closing, or opening the border.

In this episode, we’re joined by Michael DeBruhl, who spent 26 years as a U.S. Border Patrol Agent before eventually becoming director of the migrant shelter at Sacred Heart Church in El Paso. Michael takes us inside the day-to-day reality of Border Patrol, shares what decades of encounters with migrants taught him about the people crossing the border and the officers enforcing the law, and explains what “secure the border” actually means from someone who spent his career doing that work.

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What does it actually mean to wait on an immigration decision when you have no idea how long the wait will last? A work permit, green card, interview, travel permission, or family reunification can sit somewhere inside what Ashley calls the “nebulous black hole” of immigration processing, while life keeps moving outside of it.

In this episode, we’re joined by Mike Valverde, former Associate Director of Field Operations for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Mike takes us behind the scenes of what happens after an immigration application is filed, why so much of the processing time is simply waiting for a human to reach the case, how applications move through USCIS, and why two seemingly similar cases can take very different amounts of time.

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What happens after someone tells a U.S. immigration official, “I’m afraid to go back”? Behind that single sentence is an entire human story, but there is also a complicated legal process that asks government officials to listen, evaluate evidence, apply the law, and make decisions that can profoundly affect another person’s life.

In this episode, we’re joined by Heather Hogan, a former asylum officer and supervisory asylum officer who spent nearly a decade working inside the U.S. asylum system. Heather takes us behind the scenes of credible fear screenings, affirmative and defensive asylum, officer training, credibility determinations, and the difficult realities of interviewing people about some of the worst experiences of their lives. We also talk about how her faith shaped the way she approached authority, compassion, and the people sitting across from her.

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How much of what we think we know about immigration comes from today’s headlines, and how much comes from understanding how the system was built and what the data actually shows?

In this episode, we look back at key moments in U.S. immigration history before talking with Dr. Austin Kocher, research fellow at American University and president of Relevant Research. Austin helps us look beyond the headlines and into the data behind immigration enforcement, detention, legal status, and government transparency, including what the numbers can reveal when public messaging doesn’t tell the whole story.

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What if the goal isn’t simply to restore the immigration system we had before, but to imagine one that works even better?

When the headlines are relentless and the rules keep changing, it’s easy to stay focused on reacting to the latest crisis. But what could become possible if we stepped back and asked what kind of immigration system we actually want to build?

Join us this week as we look beyond the rapid policy changes of the past six months to consider the values that should shape immigration in the first place. We talk about human dignity, family unity, justice, fairness, order, legal pathways, and the role faith can play in helping Christians think more deeply about immigration. We also explore several parts of the current system we would rethink if we had the opportunity to start from scratch.

Get full show notes, transcript PDF, and more: https://hopeinactionpodcast.com/13

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Why is it so difficult for many churches to take a clear stance on immigration? In this episode of Hope in Action, we explore the tension many congregations feel at the intersection of faith, fear, and politics. We talk honestly about why pastors often hesitate to address immigration from the pulpit, and what you can do to fill this gap, if you feel compelled to.

Later in the episode, we’re joined by former pastor and The Immigration Coalition founder Rondell Treviño, who shares candid insight into what it felt like to navigate immigration conversations from the pulpit. He reflects on political pressure, fear of rejection, identity confusion, and how Christians can “live in the tension” — loving both country and neighbor without collapsing into fear or partisanship.

We close with practical encouragement for both pastors and congregants: small, faithful steps that create space for courage. Because boldness doesn’t always look like a protest or a policy statement. Sometimes it can be as simple as a single sentence in a prayer.

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As Christians, what does it look like to live out our faith while walking alongside immigrants and communities of other religions? And to do so out of compassion, instead of converting them or debating theology? For Christians, these questions bring fears of compromising their faith. But what if serving those of different religions matters more than converting them?

Working in service of immigrants and refugees regularly places Christians in unfamiliar settings, or requires us to understand what seem like big cultural differences. This episode explores what it means to show up faithfully in those moments, even when they feel unfamiliar or challenging.

We talk through real experiences of working alongside people of different faith traditions, and discuss how they have shaped our own identity as Christians. The purpose of this episode is to provide a space to think honestly about faithfulness, discomfort, and what it means to walk with others, honoring both our convictions and their dignity.

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Communities across the U.S. are shaken by recent deaths connected to federal immigration enforcement (ICE), and many people are left sitting with grief, fear, confusion, and anger. In this episode, we name that anger directly and ask what it means for Christians to respond faithfully when state power results in civilian deaths.

Rather than rushing to conclusions or political talking points, we focus on the human reality of loss and the spiritual work required to face it honestly. We’re joined by Dr. Jer Swigart, co-founder and executive director of Global Immersion, who helps us think through the difference between peacekeeping and peacemaking, and why anger is not something Christians must suppress. Jer invites us to consider how to befriend anger without allowing it to turn into dehumanizing rage, and how love, not anger, must ultimately be the fuel that sustains long-term faithfulness.

Throughout the episode, we explore how Christians can hold grief, anger, and a commitment to peace together without losing our humanity. We talk about lament and accountability, as well as practical advice for anyone navigating their own sense of righteous anger and indignation.

Get full show notes, transcript PDF, and more: https://hopeinactionpodcast.com/10

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