“Four of the Ten Commandments govern our relationship with God, while the other six govern our relationship with each other. When we take responsibility of caring for each other, we’re called into a commitment to that radical welcome that will make us a stronger, safer, and better nation. This requires moving beyond polemical debates on immigration. It requires addressing people’s instinctual need for safety and security. It requires responsibility and understanding that radical welcome in a modern age does not mean a completely open and porous border. Nor does it withhold consequences for those who enter the country illegally or overstay their visas. But it does start with communicating how immigrant are an essential part of who we are as a nation and who we have always been. It starts with living out our civic and religious values in which welcoming immigrants and loving and caring for our neighbor are central.

“Radical welcome means that even when immigrants arrive illegally, they are treated humanely, as those who also carry the image of God. Radical welcome requires a more holistic view of the border crisis, understanding why families are willing to risk their lives to take the treacherous journey from Central America and other parts of the world to reach our border. It requires understanding that crossing a border … is about fleeing difficult and often life-threatening circumstances with no possessions except a hope that the border will offer safety and welcome.

“The lack of radical welcome sabotages the building of the Beloved Community…. To those who want to be a part of building the Beloved Community, the question begins with affirming the dignity of the whole body — which for Christians is akin to protecting Jesus, who crossed over a border to safety. Will we embrace a border wall or the Statue of Liberty as the symbol that defines our nation’s moral posture toward immigration? Which symbol fulfills our deepest religious and civic values? Will we follow the clarion call from our sacred traditions to welcome the immigrant? Will our nation be again known for having an open door to the world’s most persecuted and oppressed people?”