The Covenant ethnic associations have each issued calls for the Church to uphold compassion, justice, and hospitality in the face of escalating immigration raids and restrictive policies nationwide. Although their contexts differ, their messages converge on four core themes: standing in pastoral solidarity, lamenting dehumanizing rhetoric, committing to faithful presence, and insisting that justice be indivisible.
The Asociación Latina de la Iglesia del Pacto Evangélico (ALIPE) speaks directly to the fear and trauma sweeping through Latino congregations, assuring pastors and church families that they are neither forgotten nor abandoned. In this season of uncertainty, ALIPE commits to stand together, trusting that the Spirit’s power and the denomination’s full support will sustain every community. Read the full statement below.
The Covenant Asian Pastors Association (CAPA) frames immigration as a biblical issue, citing Leviticus 19 to remind us that hospitality to the stranger flows from our identity as image-bearers of God. Above all, CAPA denounces every form of violence—whether by civilians or officials—and urges accountability, reminding us that true hospitality often demands sacrifice when it is “compelled by God’s love to do what is right.” Read the full statement below.
Drawing on centuries of displacement and exclusion, the Indigenous Ministers Association (IMA) links immigrant hardship to ongoing injustices Native peoples face—from past efforts to strip away citizenship to present-day marginalization. Their statement is both a lament and a pledge: “We will not be silent. We will remain present. We will stand alongside our immigrant kin.” By declaring that “harm to one is harm to all,” IMA reminds us that prayerful solidarity is an expression of gospel faith. Read the full statement below.
The African American Ministers Association (AAMA) draws a clear connection from historic racial oppression to today’s immigration challenges. Read the full statement below.
The Asociación Latina de la Iglesia del Pacto Evangélico (ALIPE)
To our ALIPE pastors and churches,
In this painful and uncertain time, as immigration raids unfold across the nation, we want you to know that we are with you. We are praying for you, your churches, and your communities. We recognize the fear, emotional burden, and trauma that many are carrying right now. You are not forgotten.
We are in ongoing conversation with President Tammy Swanson-Draheim and Covenant leadership to ensure that the voices and needs of our Latino churches are seen and heard. We stand in pastoral solidarity with each of you.
A word from President Tammy Swanson-Draheim: “In this time of fear and uncertainty within our Latino communities, I want you to know that I see you, I stand with you, and I am praying for you. Your faithful leadership is a gift to our church, and we are deeply grateful. As one body in Christ, we carry this moment together—trusting that the Spirit will sustain us, that the love of Jesus will guide us, and that our shared identity in him will give us strength. Please know that the full support of your denomination is with you. Holding you in love and prayer.”
For support and guidance during this time, we also encourage you to explore resources provided by the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Together in prayer, presence, and love,
The ALIPE Leadership Team
Covenant Asian Pastors Association (CAPA)
As followers of Jesus, we look to Scripture to guide our perspective on immigration. While it’s often framed as a political issue, we see it first as a biblical concern—an opportunity for the Church to reflect the compassion and justice of Christ.
We grieve the harmful ways public policy and rhetoric continue to devalue and marginalize people, many of whom are our friends, neighbors, and church members. Scripture calls us to reflect God’s heart for the vulnerable and those on the margins. As it is written:
“When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them….Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God” (Leviticus 19:33–34).
Our call to welcome and care for the immigrant is not driven by politics, economics, or convenience. It is rooted in the truth that every person bears the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and honoring that image is central to our faith. When fear dictates our response, we become focused on exclusion and self-preservation. But when we live in the abundance of God’s grace, we are drawn toward generosity, hospitality, and justice, even when it requires sacrifice.
We also believe that the enforcement of immigration laws must reflect the values of justice and due process. At the same time, we affirm the constitutional right to peacefully protest policies we believe are unjust. We denounce all forms of violence, whether by civilians or government officials who act beyond their rightful authority. We call for accountability and actions that uphold the dignity of all people.
In a time when policy decisions often overshadow human dignity, the Covenant Asian Pastors Association stands with our immigrant neighbors. We seek a society where their worth is affirmed and their safety and belonging are protected—not because the path is easy, but because we are compelled by God’s love to do what is right.
The CAPA Board (Ancy Post, Hollis Kim, Sharon Kim, Angela Yee, Josiah Cheng, Steve Wong)
Indigenous Ministers Association (IMA)
As the Indigenous Ministers Association, we stand in solidarity with our relatives in immigrant communities.
We, as Indigenous peoples, know what it feels like to be blamed, targeted, and treated as outsiders by those in power. Throughout history and still today, we have lived through policies shaped by discrimination and exclusion, some going as far as to call for the removal of U.S. citizenship from Indigenous people born on our own sovereign lands.
These injustices are not of the past. They continue to show up in ways that harm communities already living in the margins.
We recognize the pain and fear experienced by immigrant families across this land. We lift our prayers for those who are oppressed and displaced, and we commit ourselves to the work of dignity, justice, and protection for all people, no matter where they were born.
Let it be known, we will not be silent.
We will remain present. We will remain faithful.
We will stand alongside our immigrant kin.
Harm to one, is harm to all.
In unity and prayer,
The Indigenous Ministers Association
African American Ministers Association (AAMA)
President Dani Kilgore shared this declaration on behalf of AAMA: “The injustice facing immigrant communities is not separate from our own. Their pain is our pain. When any group is pushed to the margins, we all suffer. God’s call to love the stranger is not a suggestion—it’s a prophetic mandate. Justice, to be just, must be indivisible—what’s denied to one is denied to all. That’s why we stand in full solidarity. Because God’s house was never meant to have walls.”
