On Monday January 29, 2025, the six bishops of Wisconsin and Upper Michigan released a joint statement. The statement speaks to immigration and how we are called to care for our immigrant neighbors.
As with many items that come from a synod level or churchwide level, they are not meant to be read as mandates, but as faithful guides that we should be in conversation with. This is a great time and opportunity to gather as people of faith and ponder such things together.
The grace and peace of God be with you. God bless you always as we continue to follow the call of the Spirit of God in all times and all places.
Blessings,
Pastor Joseph Doegen
Joint Statement on Immigration from ELCA Bishops in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan
But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
–Ephesians 4:15-16
Friends in Christ:
We, the six bishops who oversee the work of congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Wisconsin and Upper Michigan, have come together to speak with one voice in this extraordinary time. With the words from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians in mind, calling us to speak the truth in love and work together to build up the body in love, we are particularly concerned with recent actions by the president’s administration in Washington regarding immigration and the suspension of the policy that previously restricted actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in “sensitive locations, ”including schools, hospitals, and houses of worship.
We reject the lies that these policy changes are based on: lies that seek to demonize all immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers as dangerous criminals who need to be removed from the country; and we call upon our elected leaders to base their policy decisions on the facts and on truth.
We reject the fear that these lies create, and we recognize that, while fear maybe an effective organizing strategy in the short term, it is morally bankrupt and will lead to continued division and conflict; we call upon our elected leaders to find ways to work together to create an immigration system that builds people up and welcomes the contributions of those who seek to live here. Specifically, we call for the immediate restoration of the sensitive locations policy, allowing children and families the ability to engage in the basic functions of civic life.
We also reject the recent action that put an immediate end to all work related to refugee resettlement, recognizing that this action causes direct harm to countless families, many of whom are already living and working in this country; and we call for the immediate restoration of funding for refugee resettlement.
Finally, we reject the notion that our nation is so divided that we will never be able to find common ground, and we call upon all our leaders, all those who work in the public and the private sector, all our congregations, pastors, deacons and leaders, to learn how to become effective allies for our immigrant, refugee, and asylum-seeking neighbors so that we can live in a world that respects the human dignity of all and builds one another up in love.
In Christ,
Bishop Paul Erickson, Greater Milwaukee Synod
Bishop Anne Edison-Albright, East Central Synod of Wisconsin
Bishop Felix Malpica, La Crosse Area Synod
Bishop Martin Halom, Northwest Synod of Wisconsin
Bishop Katherine Finegan, Northern Great Lakes Synod
Bishop Joy Mortensen-Wiebe, South-Central Synod of Wisconsin
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