In Genesis 2, the first institution that God establishes is not the government or even the church; it is the family. God makes his promises to individuals but works through the family, and it is family units that are held accountable for the sins or blessed for the righteousness of previous generations. In the New Testament, Jesus makes abundantly clear that what God has joined together in marriage, human institutions should not separate (Matthew 19:6, Mark 10:9).  

With this in mind, the National Association of Evangelicals partnered with World Relief to publish a report on how current immigration and detention policies on U.S. citizen children and spouses are separating families.

Titled “Joined Together, Torn Apart: How U.S. Immigration Policies Are Separating Families,” the report evaluates the scope and impact of new immigration policies on the family, estimating the current and projected harm to children and spouses if these policies and approaches are not changed.

The report found that more than 1.3 million U.S. citizens could be separated from their families by the end of the current administration in early 2029.  

This report does not say that all deportations are unjust or unwarranted. However, when in the course of enforcing immigration or border security policies, husbands are separated from wives and wives from husbands, or children from their mother, father or both parents, not only is the family unit violated, but the remaining U.S. citizen members often end up in orphan- or widow-like situations — at least temporarily and sometimes permanently — creating the very objects of mercy to which Scripture repeatedly calls the Church to minister. 

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