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Some Christian groups condemn Trump’s order temporarily suspending immigration for 60 days
Some Christian humanitarian and activist groups have expressed concerns over President Trump’s announcement that the U.S. will temporarily halt immigration for 60 days.
The president said Tuesday that he felt a “solemn duty” to the more than 22 million Americans who are now out of work due to layoffs spurred by the coronavirus. Federal, state, and local governments took emergency actions last month in an attempt to reduce the number of infections and fatalities from COVID-19 by closing businesses and services deemed non-essential.
“It would be wrong and unjust for Americans laid off by the virus to be replaced with new immigrant labor flown in from abroad,” Trump said. Guest workers, however, will be allowed to continue working in the U.S.
On Monday evening, Trump announced that his administration would take this action as a way to continue to curb infections of the coronavirus and to help the economy since the U.S. now has a surplus of labor after more than 22 million Americans were laid off following state lockdown orders.
“In light of the attack from the Invisible Enemy, as well as the need to protect the jobs of our GREAT American Citizens, I will be signing an Executive Order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States,” the president tweeted.
U.S. immigration courts have not been processing green cards or visas since the global shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic that originated in Wuhan, China.
Nearly all visa processing has been suspended for weeks and travel has been restricted from many countries worldwide including the U.K., Europe, Canada, China, and Mexico, The Associated Press reports. Similarly, the EU has banned travel between member nations, and Canada and Mexico have extended their own travel restrictions.
Jenny Yang, vice president of advocacy & policy for the refugee resettlement organization World Relief, said in a statement emailed to The Christian Post that they were “very concerned by the idea of shutting down all legal immigration, particularly now, as the nation is slowly coming out of the COVID-19 shutdown.”
“Immigrants already undergo careful health screenings before being allowed into the U.S., and given that the virus is already spreading widely within the U.S., further restrictions on immigration do nothing to improve the public health situation,” Yang said. “Instead, they lead to family separation and slamming the door of our nation to the persecuted.”
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, defended the executive order, saying on the Fox News program “Fox & Friends” that it was comparable to earlier restrictions.
“It’s the same opposition they had when the president, on January 31, halted flights in and out of China. That decision saved lives in America,” Cruz said.
“The Democrats makes a lot of noise about wanting to do more to stop the spread of coronavirus but when the president stands up and does that, all they can do is attack him.”
Another Christian activist group that denounced the president’s decision was the Franciscan Action Network. In a statement posted on their website Tuesday, FAN said they were “appalled by the latest manifestation of the Trump administration’s xenophobia, making another midnight policy announcement to suspend all immigration into the country.”
It continued, “The administration has used the pandemic as cover for multiple detrimental policy changes: from gutting various environmental regulations and extending the separation of children from parents on the border to defunding the World Health Organization.”
The faith-based charity organization Church World Service also denounced the president’s plan to temporarily suspend immigration and used the same terminology as FAN by arguing that the executive order is xenophobic.
CWS President Rev. John L McCullough said in a statement released Tuesday that he considered the decision part of a “hardline anti-immigrant agenda.”
“To let xenophobia dictate our response to this public health crisis is despicable. Much like with the pandemic, the president ignores the experts and follows the rantings of extremists,” McCullough stated.
“Our economy is made stronger by immigration and our recovery will depend on the growth and revitalization immigrants bring to our communities.”
On Tuesday morning, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany defended the president’s executive order, saying: “President Trump is committed to protecting the health and economic well-being of American citizens as we face unprecedented times. As President Trump has said, ‘Decades of record immigration have produced lower wages and higher unemployment for our citizens, especially for African American and Latino workers.’ At a time when Americans are looking to get back to work, action is necessary.”
Sources: Christian Post
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American tourist arrested for vandalizing Jesus statue at church in Jerusalem: ‘You can’t have idols’

An American tourist has been arrested for vandalizing a statue of Jesus Christ at a church in Jerusalem, reportedly due to his belief that the statue constituted idolatry.
A man in his 40s, whose name has not been released to the press, was arrested Thursday after he defaced and broke parts of a statue of Jesus at the Franciscan Church of the Condemnation, a property that includes the Church of the Flagellation.
In a video taken at the church, the man could be heard shouting, “you can’t have idols in Jerusalem, this is a holy city,” Fox News reported.
According to tradition, the church was built on the space believed to be where Jesus was flogged by the Roman soldiers back in the first century and presented with a cross to carry.
“We take very seriously damage to religious institutions and sites,” an Israeli police spokesperson said in a statement. “The police will continue to act against acts of violence and vandalism in the holy places of all religions.”
Custodia Terrae Sanctae, a Franciscan organization that oversees the care and protection of Catholic Church holy sites in the Middle East, released a statement denouncing the vandalism.
The vandalism marked the fifth incident within the last month, according to Custodia Terrae Sanctae, which cited examples of recent vandalism that included attacks on a monastery and a local Christian cemetery.
“We follow with concern and strongly condemn this growing succession of serious acts of hatred and violence against the Christian community in Israel,” added Custodia Terrae Sanctae. “It is no coincidence that the legitimization of discrimination and violence in public opinion and in the current Israeli political environment also translates into acts of hatred and violence against the Christian community.”
The group went on to call upon the Israeli government to “act decisively to guarantee security for all communities, to guarantee the protection of religious minorities and to eradicate religious fanaticism.”
Last month, a group of people believed to be radical Jewish Israelis attacked an Armenian restaurant in the Christian quarter of the city, waving Israeli flags and throwing chairs at patrons.
The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land denounced the violence leveled against the restaurant, expressing concern over “the escalation of violence in the Holy City.”
“This unprovoked violence instilled fear in the shopkeepers and residents of the Christian quarter as well as visitors,” stated the Assembly.
“It is only the latest in a series of episodes of religious violence that is affecting the symbols of the Christian community and beyond.”
Sources:Christian Post
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ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ അഭയാർത്ഥികൾക്ക് അഭയവിസകൾ നൽകണമെന്ന് യുഎസ് കോൺഗ്രസിനോട് ഫിയകോന

ന്യൂയോർക് :മതപരമായ അക്രമത്തിന് ഇരയായ ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ അഭയാർത്ഥികൾക്ക് 10,000 അഭയവിസകൾ നീക്കിവെക്കണമെന്നും മതപരമായ അക്രമത്തിന് ഇരയായവർക്കും വ്യാജ പോലീസ് കേസുകൾ ചുമത്തപ്പെട്ടവർക്കും ഇന്റർനാഷണൽ നിയമത്തിനു വിധേയമായി അമേരിക്കൻ കോടതികളിൽ പോലീസിനും സർക്കാർ ഉദ്യോഗസ്ഥർക്കും എതിരെ കേസ് ഫയൽ ചെയ്യാൻ അനുവദിക്കുന്ന ഒരു നിയമം പാസാക്കണമെന്നും ഫെഡറേഷൻ ഓഫ് ഇന്ത്യൻ അമേരിക്കൻ ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ ഓർഗനൈസേഷൻ ജനുവരി 30 നു പുറത്തിറക്കിയ വാർഷീക റിപ്പോർട്ടിൽ യുഎസ് കോൺഗ്രസിനോട് ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടു.
ഇന്ത്യൻ ക്രിസ്ത്യൻ സമൂഹത്തിനുണ്ടായ നഷ്ടം കണക്കാക്കുകയും അക്രമത്തിന് ഇരയായവർക്ക് ഇന്ത്യൻ സർക്കാർ നഷ്ടപരിഹാരം നൽകണമെന്ന് തുടർന്നു റിപ്പോർട്ടിൽ ആവശ്യപ്പെട്ടു. പൗരന്മാരെ സംരക്ഷിക്കുന്നതിൽ ഭരണകൂടം പരാജയപ്പെട്ടതിന്റെ ഫലമാണ് ഈ നഷ്ടം സംഭവിച്ചതെന്ന് ഫിയകോന വിലയിരുത്തി. ഇന്ത്യയിൽ ഇതുവരെ ആരും ഇത് ഉന്നയിച്ചിട്ടില്ല. USAID അല്ലെങ്കിൽ DoS പോലുള്ള യുഎസ് ഏജൻസികൾ ഈ വിഷയത്തിൽ കൂടുതൽ പര്യവേക്ഷണം ചെയ്യാൻ ആഗ്രഹിക്കുന്നുവെങ്കിൽ വിശദമായ പഠനം നടത്താനും ഫിയകോന തയാറാണെന്നും പ്രസിഡന്റ് കെ ജോർജ് (ന്യൂയോർക് )പറഞ്ഞു
Sources:globalindiannews
us news
Church mourns pastor, wife who died trying to save son from drowning at the beach

A Brazilian church is mourning the loss of a pastor and his wife, who died attempting to save their teenage son from drowning at the beach.
Felisberto Sampaio, 43, and his wife, Inalda Sampaio, 42, saw their 13-year-old son, Ian Sampaio, struggling in the water at Camacari Beach in Brazil on Jan. 10. The couple entered the ocean to rescue the boy, but they failed to reach him.
As Brazilian news outlet Universo Online reported, the incident occurred around 10 a.m., citing the Civil Police, who reported that the boy was rescued by a fisherman and another family member while his parents were not pulled from the water in time.
The Fire Department confirmed to UOL that the two victims were removed from the water. The department attempted to revive them, eventually declaring the couple dead at the scene.
The Sampaio family was from the city of Campina Grande in Brazil, and the father had been a pastor for 12 years at the Assembly of God Church in Quixaba, Paraíba, according to The Daily Mail. The family was spending a couple of days in the Paraíba city of Lucena.
Members of the church mourned the couple’s death, as well as Leonardo Meneses, a pastor at a church that the family had frequently attended.
“I know that the circumstances are painful and difficult for us to understand. Only eternity will explain all the mysteries of life,” Meneses said
The couple’s oldest son, Issac Sampaio, told TV Borborema on Jan. 11 that he planned to visit his parents before their tragic deaths. The eldest child said he last saw his parents on Jan. 8.
“The thing that goes through people’s minds is that it’s a lie,” he said.
Sources:Christian Post
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