Central America

Book Review: Christianity and the Law of Migration edited by Allard, Silas W., Kristin E. Heyer, and Raj Nadella

[1] Christianity and the Law of Migration comes at an opportune time. This volume of essays brings law and legal principles into conversation with Christian Scriptural, ethical, and theological concepts on the topic of global migration. The work represents an important intervention into scholarly, humanitarian, and policy discussions at a time when millions of people […]

Review: The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life, by Lauren Markham

[1] My “awakening” to the poor and oppressed of Central America and Mexico and the relationship of that to U.S., policy, is easily traced to my travel with the Augsburg College Center for Global Education to Mexico and Nicaragua, in 1982.  Almost immediately after, I sought a Tex-Mex border experience, and then found the local Overground […]

Recent Films Feature Migration Themes

[1] Four new films offer penetrating and personal looks into various aspects of migration, deepening our understanding of migrant worker vulnerability, environmental destruction from continued wall building, the courageous work of Dreamers, and the shocking and complex violence driving families to flee Guadalupe, Mexico. [2] The Infiltrators is the provocative and uplifting story of Dreamers who courageously […]

Editor’s Introduction: The Plight of Immigrants and Refugees

How shall we respond to the stranger knocking at our door? What should our answer be to the plight of the refugee desperate for a safe haven or to the immigrant seeking refuge among us, fleeing violence and poverty in their home country. How shall we respond when we know that we are not totally innocent from the causes that have created the humanitarian crises consuming the Middle East, Central America, and so many African countries. And what shall we do when the stranger knocking at the door is viewed with suspicion and fear by many among our own?

Blessed are the Undocumented? A Reflection on Matthew 5:1-12

[1] When preaching on the Beatitudes it’s easy to default to two common interpretations. The first is to individualize the statements, making them into a scheme for securing God’s blessing. Such an approach assumes that if we adhere to the qualities outlined by Jesus, God will be more apt to bless and love us. [2] […]

When Parallel Lines Converge: Roman Catholic Integrism and Evangelical Fundamentalism–some reflections from Latin America

[1] Roman Catholicism (RC) is still the major religious force in most of Latin America. It is more than a denomination: it is a powerful social organization with an extraordinary cultural-formative power. Even though Protestants, Evangelicals and Pentecostals have experienced a steady growth during the last century, Catholicism has managed to continue to dominate the […]