Reject false facts about refugees

We have quickly seen that candidate Donald Trump and President Trump are one and the same.

His inaugural address communicated that our new president intended to make good on the statements he made at rallies across the country. And of all of the promises Trump vowed to keep once he became president of the United States, a commitment to “make America safe again” was a continual narrative.

Several drafts have been leaked of “Protecting the Nation from Terrorist Attacks by Foreign Nationals.” One draft copy, now widely distributed, is eight pages long and puts many new policies in place, most notably a 120-day moratorium on the Refugee Admissions Program, a dramatic cut of the overall number of refugees allowed into the U.S. this year, and an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria.

Like many people, I agree with Trump that we need a greater focus on national security and a more clear engagement in the war against radical Islamism. However, in the case of refugees, I’m concerned that the president is operating on generated fear rather than facts.

And, here’s an important fact: Coming to the United States as a refugee would be one of the worst ways to try and get in our country if you wanted to do harm. There is simply no evidence that our refugee program has created a significant problem of terrorism. Anyone saying anything else is making up false facts.

We are in what could be a decades-long war with radical Islamism. However, refugees are not causing the violence. They are the ones fleeing it. Almost all recent terrorist attacks in our own nation have come from long-term residents or citizens, not new refugees.

The Cato Institute published a very thorough risk analysis on terrorism and immigration that tells us that the odds of an American citizen being killed by a refugee-turned-terrorist is 1 in 3.64 billion per year.

How should those of us who are evangelicals respond to the ban on refugees?

First, we must continue to reject false facts.

Second, we need to recapture a vision of what it means that all are made in God’s image.

I’m pro-life because the unborn are made in the image of God, as are refugees. So, I’m pro-refugee because I am pro-life. When we remember that all people are made in the image of God, we might just see refugees differently, an idea that aligns with the values Americans have held dear, including the past several Republican presidents.

Finally, we must fight for those without a voice.

Trump’s executive order means that the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program will be suspended for about four months, and when it begins again, it will likely not be the same. I certainly understand the struggle with fear in our current climate, but I imagine that there are many people on the other side of the world who have experienced fear like you or I have not seen. And they have just been told they have nowhere to turn.

As an American citizen, I cannot change this executive order. But as a Christian and kingdom citizen, I cannot cheer for it, and I cannot stay silent. It is time to pray for those who are hurting, and to plead with our leaders to change course.

This story was originally published January 31, 2017 at 5:01 AM with the headline "Reject false facts about refugees."