Only after major, sustained online controversy has the Presbyterian Church in America, or PCA, taken down an article it posted online in which it instructed illegal immigrants on how they can avoid Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. It then sent out a letter in which it apologized for the article and vowed to investigate who originally posted it.
In the webpage at issue, the PCA directed illegal immigrants who are detained by ICE to “1) Follow the Know Your Rights guidelines specific to your encounter with Immigration. (See “What rights do non-citizens have? Know your Rights”); 2) Remain calm. Show ICE your identity document (if you do not have lawful status, show an identity document that does not include your country of birth or citizenship). If you have lawful status and any proof of status, proof of having been in the U.S. for two years and/or proof of having applied for asylum or some other immigration benefit, show that to ICE”
It continued, saying they should, “3) Ask to call an immigration lawyer; 4) If you were granted parole or have been in the U.S. for less than two years and you fear returning to your home country, tell the officer you are afraid to go back. You should get a Credible Fear Interview as a result. If the officer denies your Credible Fear Interview, ask for the chance for an immigration judge to review your fear.”
It was for that webpage that the PCA apologized in a letter, saying, “Mission to North America (MNA) serves the PCA for the advancement of Christ’s kingdom through our churches in the U.S. and Canada. We do this through a two-pronged focus on church planting and church vitality. Our church planting efforts facilitate starting and supporting new PCA churches.”
It continued, “Our church vitality efforts provide ministry resources that enable our churches to grow in their outward-facing missional engagement in their communities, loving neighbors as our Lord commands (Matt 22:39). One such long-standing MNA ministry is our Refugee and Immigrant Ministry (RIM).”
Continuing, and getting to the subject of the webpage itself, the letter said, “Recently, we posted links on our webpage to external organizations offering a wide range of recommendations and frequently asked questions on immigration. MNA’s leadership erroneously allowed the posting of content that advised undocumented persons on ways to avoid being detained by authorities.”
Commenting on the religious teachings as to obeying the police, and noting that the PCA fell short of those Biblical Commandments, the letter said, “We affirm that it is our Christian duty to obey the lawful commands of the civil magistrate and be subject to their authority (WCF 23.4; Romans 13:1-4; 1 Peter 2:13-14). To counsel otherwise is a sin. We confess that we fell short of our Biblical and Confessional standard. We repent and apologize. We also apologize for causing confusion and consternation in our church. We have removed all the previously posted information from our website.”
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The letter then provided, “MNA’s Refugee & Immigrant Ministry, along with other MNA ministries, seeks to serve our churches with resources that enable them to faithfully follow our Lord’s call to love the stranger. However, MNA does not engage in providing legal advice, political campaigning or partisan positions. The information we post going forward will provide ecclesiastical resources in line with our Confession for guidance on the matter.”
It concluded, “The MNA Permanent Committee is holding its Spring Meeting during the first week of March and this issue is docketed for further focused discussion as part of the Committee’s regular oversight of MNA’s ministries. The Committee does this work on behalf of the General Assembly of the PCA, which meets annually in June.”
Watch Vance tell criminal illegal immigrants to “pack your bags”: