A new report from World Relief and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary reveals that 80 percent of immigrants vulnerable to deportation identify as Christians, most of them Catholic and Evangelical. The findings come as faith leaders sound the alarm over proposed immigration crackdowns that are reshaping both policy and the American Church.
Titled “One Part of the Body,” the report draws from 2022 census data and Department of Homeland Security figures. It estimates that more than 10 million Christians could be affected by changes in immigration enforcement, including DACA recipients, Temporary Protected Status holders, and asylum seekers.
Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief, pointed to Scripture as a lens for understanding the crisis. “In First Corinthians 12, the apostle Paul writes that when one part of the body suffers, every part suffers with it,” Greene said.
He contends that deportation efforts already underway are beginning to extend to people who held legal status when former President Donald Trump first took office.
“It’s important to note that the deportation efforts that are taking effect now are beginning to extend to people who had legal status when President Trump took office,” Greene said.
Faith groups warn about the potential impact on one in every twelve Christians living in the U.S., or their family members. Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, said many immigrants are revitalizing the American Church.
“Immigrants are coming from parts of the world where the Church is actually thriving,” Kim said. “Not only are they bringing that faith and contributing to America, they’re also contributing to the vibrancy of the Church in America.”
El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, representing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called for just and compassionate reform. He said those arriving often share values that Americans once held dear.
“The people who are coming are people who uphold, in the past, values we would have considered central to our country,” Seitz said.
But others in the evangelical community, including Rev. Samuel Rodriguez of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, who recently met with Trump at the White House, said current deportation priorities target serious criminal offenders, not long-standing Christian families.
“There is no intentional targeting of good, God-fearing people who have been here for decades,” Rodriguez said. “The target priorities are those involved in nefarious activities—the criminal element, like the pedophiles and the child abusers, literally raping children.”
But that assurance came too late for Stephanie Gonzalez, a former youth pastor who lost both her parents to deportation in February after they made a routine check-in at an immigration court.
“There was no explanation of why they were detained, no justification why they were handcuffed—from their wrists to their ankles—and there was no info to where they were going,” Gonzalez said.
After 35 years in the U.S., her parents were sent back to Colombia. Despite the pain, she said her family’s faith is what holds them together.
“Hope and prayer—there’s a shift and change of heart, to see immigrants as human beings in the image of God.”
Greene believes that stories like hers may help the Church recognize what’s truly at stake. “While the numbers in this report are sobering, when the Church realizes that it’s real people like Stephanie and her family who are affected, I think that’s when the issue will come to light,” he said.
The report ends with a call to action: for Christian leaders to unite across denominational lines and urge the president to reconsider his strategy. Rodriguez echoed that plea, warning that without reform, innocent believers may get caught in the crossfire.
“It’s unfortunate that good people may be caught up—good Christian people who came here illegally—caught up in what should have never been the circumstances in the first place,” Rodriguez said. “This is not an anti-immigrant administration. It is a pro-legal immigrant administration. President Biden permitted somewhere close to 15 million illegal entries, and many of them are involved in nefarious activities.”
While Christian leaders differ in their views on immigration policy, they agree that reform must come through Congress—and with compassion. As Christianity continues to grow globally, the U.S. Church, the report warns, will rely more heavily on immigrant believers. Deporting millions of Christian immigrants could accelerate church decline.
