Who I'm Not Afraid Of
You know that feeling when your little brother is pushed around on a playground, or you overhear a passive aggressive comment made about a dear friend—your blood starts pumping and you go into defense mode? Well, that is how I feel today.
The Trump Administration has announced that they will go back, re-interview, and scrutinize the cases of nearly 200,000 new neighbors who were lawfully admitted as refugees during the Biden Administration. They have also said that they will suspend all approvals on green card applications from those who arrived in the US during that time. Horrific.
Refugees undergo an extensive vetting process. Many wait for decades before finally being approved to resettle in another country, and millions more will never be permanently resettled. This action by the current administration creates distrust of this long-standing process, and appears to have only one ambition: to create fear and distrust of our neighbors, to cause us to see them as “other,” and to feel that they don’t deserve to be here.
This type of policy creates dehumanizing rhetoric that endangers our community members as they struggle to survive in an already stretched season post-resettlement. This is not an additional burden they should carry.
Part of why I’m angry is because I spend each day caring for the community alongside passionate, committed, and skilled women who came to this country as refugees. I would trust each of them with my own life.
What if as a nation, we instead investigated and highlighted the ways refugees have contributed to their communities since they arrived? They are community health workers, hospice nurse aids, neighbors who drive friends to apply for a new job or identify a new resource, moms who volunteer for a youth soccer team. They bring chai to friends who are unwell, celebrate with their communities, and create healing spaces for others. They are human beings, who carry inherent dignity, honor, and worth.
You must be mistaken—my friends are not a threat—they are a gift.
Two weeks ago, Treetops hosted an “Explore the World Of Treetops” event—inviting 50 CCDA conference attendees into our mission, to experience welcome and immerse themselves in the wonders of cross-cultural community. We dined on healthy and vibrant Nepali food while program leader Kala Pokhrel shared part of her story—her love of home and her dreams of speaking to thousands. We toured different rooms around our building, hearing about people who are healing from migration trauma, the many leadership opportunities for women and girls, the power of celebration and friendship, and the talent demonstrated in our cafe and store.
Afterward, I had a few side conversations, but one stands out the most: an older gentleman from North Carolina, a Christian, who with tears in his eyes said, “It’s just not true, what is on the news—they are people just like us. [They] want the same things.”
This is why we must go beyond simply providing services for refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers. We must build a world that honors and respects their dignity, that creates room for cross-cultural connection and celebration, and that shifts hearts and minds to see our neighbors differently.
This is the world we are building. You can join us through advocacy, giving, coming to an engagement event and bringing a friend, or amplifying the goodness of our neighbors through social media or your daily conversations.
You can also help us build this world by co-hosting an event like "Explore the World of Treetops” with us and inviting your friends, neighbors, co-workers, book clubbers, or fellow parishioners. When people encounter the indescribable beauty of cross-cultural community, it is impossible for them to continue to hold dehumanizing views about their neighbors.
There is no time like now to proclaim loud and clear that immigrants are welcome here.
