Deportations

Legal battles continue for two high-profile deportation cases.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court ruled that the White House must help “facilitate” the return of Kilmar Abrego and hold additional federal district court proceedings in his case. Abrego, a 29-year-old Salvadoran man, was living in Maryland with protected legal status when he was mistakenly deported to a notorious El Salvador prison and accused of having gang ties.

Meanwhile, on Friday, an immigration judge ruled that Mahmoud Khalil—the Columbia grad student and pro-Palestinian activist who ICE detained last month—can be deported as a national security risk. The judge said Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s determination that his presence could cause “serious foreign policy consequences” was enough to meet deportation standards. Khalil’s lawyers are expected to appeal, and a New Jersey federal judge has temporarily barred his removal.

CHRISTIAN RESPONSE
As immigration issues lead to contention, consider the radical inclusivity of the gospel: God’s kingdom has no physical borders, and his mission is to win the worship of all nations.

“‘For just as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, will remain before me’ — this is the Lord’s declaration — ‘so your offspring and your name will remain. All humanity will come to worship me from one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another,’ says the Lord.” 
Isaiah 66:22-23 (CSB) (read full passage)