I feel very disconnected from the immigration crisis at the US southern border. I live in Connecticut, far away from detention centers and checkpoints. 

So when I was invited to see what is happening at the border up close, I felt that this was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. I’ll be heading to El Paso tomorrow alongside a group of other Christian women to visit officials and immigrants in Mexico and Texas who are living in and responding to this crisis. We’ll speak first hand to asylum seekers, people applying for refugee status, lawyers attempting to navigate an increasingly murky legal process, and officials tasked with a growing list of responsibilities. 

I know the politics and the legal issues at stake are complicated, but the human need on view also cries out for attention and care. For me, the question is whether/how to best engage with immigrants and deal with the immigration crisis from thousands of miles away. How do we truly respond in love?

I’ll write about the trip and what I learned when I return, but in anticipation of this visit, I wanted to share this list of recommended articles, podcast episodes, and books that I received from our trip organizer. Perhaps you will find these resources helpful as I did.

Articles: 

• Border Crisis Questions Answered – Part 1
• Border Crisis Questions Answered – Part 2
• Fact Sheet: U.S. Asylum Process 
• Infographic: Remain In Mexico Impacts
• Immigration lawyers: We saw what’s happening at the US-Mexico border. It’s a tragic farce.
• US moves to abolish child migrant custody limits
• Infographic: Alternatives to Detention
• Jesus at the Border

Podcast Episodes: 

From the podcast “Only in America” with Ali Noorani:

• “Bearing Witness Along the Border” Reverend Beth Cossin
• ”They’re Children First, and Immigrants Second” Wendy Young (Kids In Need of Defense – KIND) 
• “Embrace Immigrants the Way Scripture Calls Us To” Jenny Yang & Matt Soerens (World Relief) 

Books: 

• Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate by Soerens, Yang, and Anderson 
• Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible by Daniel Carroll
• Love Undocumented: Risking Trust in a Fearful World by Sarah Quezada

Sort of Related: If you’re looking for resources for kids that feature diverse authors and characters, I have a list here. Let me point out in particular, Jennifer Grant’s lovely picture book Maybe I Can Love My Neighbor, Too.

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