By Rev. Matthew J. M. Coomber
SAU Theological Perspective
As a nation and as a Christian community, there is plenty of anxiety to go around in 2026, and no small measure of it stems from the immigration crisis. We see militarized federal agents grabbing people off of Minneapolis streets (a federal judge ruled that at least 23 instances were based on skin color); the image of a five-year old child in his blue bunny hat and Spiderman backpack being taken, as school officials explained, to be used as bait to nab his father (both of whom are in the U.S. legally); the forceful removal of United States citizen ChongLy “Scott” Thao in only his underwear from his home after agents refused either to look at his identification or to allow him to dress for the freezing winter air; and the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti. We may differ in our views on how immigration law should work, but the physical, emotional, and legal abuse of citizens, immigrants (regardless of legal status), and refugees is a concern for conservatives and progressives alike — doubly so for those of us who identify as followers of Christ.
As an Episcopal priest, I sometimes have to tell my congregants that I do not preach politics, but I do preach Christian morality. And if politics spills onto my turf, you can be sure that I will not silence myself to make politicians comfortable, including those whom I would normally support. I’ve found myself saying this a lot recently, and it is a blessing that neither you nor I have to stand up alone when our Christian duty to respect the inherent dignity of all God’s children comes into conflict with power. Pope Leo XIV saw to that in last year’s publication of his Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi te (I Have Loved You). If you have not yet had the opportunity to read it, I highly encourage you to do so.
At the heart of Dilexi te is the Church’s commitment to the poor: an exceedingly relevant topic as most of those affected by the current excesses in immigration enforcement suffer from scarcity. While the entirety of Dilexi te provides valuable insights, an important component is the opportunity it gives us to reset some of the misleading stereotypes that are placed on people living in poverty. Anti-poor tropes — which are also directed at immigrants and refugees — commonly shame and dismiss those experiencing poverty as lazy, criminal, or immoral. These false attitudes blame victims, reduce the whole of an individual’s being to socio-economic conditions, and give cover to systems that create and hold our neighbors in poverty’s grip. Father James Hanvey explains that Dilexi te rejects these false narratives by inviting us to “open our eyes again, and from the perspective of Christ, from the perspective of God to look at our world and to see with new eyes… people who are caught up in systems over which they have no control.” Pope Leo XIV helps in this task by bringing us back to the root of Jesus’ mission and that of his followers.
Dilexi te reminds us that Christ’s life and work did not represent a set of abstract theological theories but was filled with lessons taught through example. Christ’s birth into poverty and refugee status — all while inhabiting our flesh, which is susceptible to hunger, thirst, disease, and imprisonment — represents the radical reality of God-with-us and renders the poor not as a sociological category but as a location at which “the flesh of Christ” is encountered. It is for this reason that Pope Leo XIV tells us that the Church, at its very center, “is in solidarity with the poor, the excluded, the marginalized and all those considered the outcasts of society.”
Among the most vulnerable people living in our society are those who are here without citizenship. Many come to our country and remain in our communities with legal status, as my mother was able to do. Others either do not or cannot. Irrespective of our views on how immigration should be handled, or what should be done about those who are here without legal status, we do not have the right to terrorize, abuse, or in any other way violate the dignity of any of God’s children.
Regardless of where we fall on the political spectrum or how we view the U.S. immigration crisis, we must remember our call to follow Christ’s example and recognize the inherent dignity of all God’s children. Tragically, there have been too many times in which our Christian ranks have failed the vulnerable by either looking away from their plight or by supporting the harms visited upon them. In this period of societal anxiety, history is watching us once again. Let us take to heart the gift of Pope Leo XIV’s Apostolic Exhortation, Dilexi te, which can help to guide us in following the glorious examples of those Christians who met their trying moments by embodying the spirit of Christ.
(Rev. Matthew Coomber is a professor of Biblical Studies and Theology at St. Ambrose University in Davenport.)
