Refugees and Rhetoric

It was 2015. I was finishing up my teaching degree and decided to pursue Adult Education with hopes of teaching at a nonprofit that served refugees. I was nearing the end of college. When people asked about my post-grad plans, and I shared, the response was typically encouragement and interest. Often members of the church community would use words like “ministry” and “calling” after hearing what I hoped to do.

Jump to Fall 2016. Something shifted, and I could feel it. My plan to enter a career connected to refugee resettlement was more frequently met with attitudes of caution, or sometimes a quick change of topic.

What changed?

The impact of the Syrian refugee crisis on Europe, coupled with our country’s ongoing struggle to secure its borders, led to immigration and refugee resettlement being core talking points of the 2016 elections. President Trump’s choice of language and his lens for discussing these issues (and individuals) had tremendous impact. Skepticism was implanted through the rhetoric, and it began to breed.

USCIS notes that according to US law, a refugee is an individual that “Demonstrates that they were persecuted or fear persecution due to race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership in a particular social group.”¹ Before entering the United States, refugees go through a rigorous (often multi-year) vetting process by the UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, which is “dedicated to saving lives, protecting rights and building a better future for people forced to flee their homes because of conflict and persecution.”² The UNHCR then refers some cases they vet to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program. Before entering the U.S., refugees undergo further vetting and eligibility to ensure the individual(s) present no risk to the country. Individuals and families who come to the United States through the Refugee Admissions Program are widely considered the most thoroughly screened and vetted out of any immigration or visa program our country offers. Research shows that refugees statistically decrease crime in communities. As a result, these individuals in turn make our communities overall safer.³ Numerous studies also point to the incredible economic contributions that refugees add to our nation and communities.⁴

Despite this, the rhetoric of the 2016 elections around refugees left a lasting impact. We were coached to be skeptics. We were conditioned to fear. Instead of counting it a joy to participate in the healing and welcome of individuals that had suffered some of the most horrendous and unthinkable traumas in our world, we began to count it a personal loss - a personal loss of security, a personal loss of finances, and a personal loss of the country (and life) that we wanted to live.

Rhetoric matters. Rhetoric is transformative. Rhetoric of influential leaders can subtly replace discipleship if not tested and countered by scripture.

The word “foreigner” (sometimes translated into “Immigrant”, “refugee”, “stranger” or “sojouner”) appears in the NIV translation of the Bible over 140 times.⁵ God has a lot to say about our treatment of and disposition towards the foreigner. It takes intentionality and discipleship to see and believe what God’s word says about the immigrant. When that intentionality is lost or underprioritized, the church falls into a dangerous place of receiving all its discipleship on this issue from political figures and secular worldviews.

Take a step closer…

1. Read what the Bible has to say about refugees and immigrants, and get unbiased, nonpartisan information on policies and procedures impacting our immigrant neighbors at Biblical Resources – Evangelical Immigration Table or Women of Welcome.

2. Consider discussing with your pastor or a spiritual leader at your church what it could look like to incorporate intentional discipleship into your church on a Biblical worldview for welcoming immigrants and refugees. This could be through an intentional bible study (I recommend resources at Biblical Resources – Evangelical Immigration Table or Women of Welcome) or simply including scripture on welcoming immigrants if your church leadership disciples the congregation through how to think about difficult topics in our culture.

References

¹Refugees. (2025, September 17). USCIS. https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/refugees-and-asylum/refugees

²About UNHCR. (n.d.). UNHCR. https://www.unhcr.org/about-unhcr

³Ruiz Soto, Ariel G. (2024, October). Explainer: Immigrants and Crime in the United States. Migration Policy Institute. https://www.migrationpolicy.org/content/immigrants-and-crime

Debunking the Myth of Immigrants and Crime. (2024, October). American Immigration Council. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/wp- content/uploads/2025/01/debunking_the_myth_of_immigrants_and_crime.pdf

⁴Starting Anew: The Economic Impact of Refugees in America. (2023, June 20). American Immigration Council. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/report/economic-impact-refugees-america/

Immigrants as Economic Contributors: Refugees Are a Fiscal Success Story for America (n.d.). National Immigration Forum. https://forumtogether.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Economic-and-Fiscal-Impact-of-Refugees_Format-Final1.pdf

⁵21 Bible Verses About Refugees. (2025, July 1). World Relief. https://worldrelief.org/21-bible-verses-about-immigrants-refugees/