Today (December 18th) is International Migrants Day. For the last twenty-five years this date has been observed to recognise the contributions that migrants and refugees have made to society worldwide, and to address and challenge the struggles they face when seeking safety and opportunity. Perhaps it is coincidental that this date falls during the third week of Advent, at a time when Christians prepare to welcome the Light of the World who himself fled with his family from the violence threatened by the tyrannical King Herod. In this blog I invite you to reflect on the Greatest Story Ever Told though a new lens as we see the faces of Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus in the faces of the refugees and migrants in our modern time. I will offer commentary on the current situation and the harmful rhetoric people seeking refuge face both at home and in the United States, focusing particularly at ICE Detention Centres with a focus on the countless displaced trans* people detained within them, and ask the question: what is ours to do?
When you think about the Christmas Story what comes to mind? Do you picture a nativity scene with a whole host of animals and angels singing? Perhaps you see children dressed as shepherds with tea towels over their heads clinging on to soft toy lambs while proudly singing the words to ‘It was on a starry night’ that their teacher spent all term teaching them. Or do you see, as Reverend Munther Isaac, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem puts it, Christ in the rubble? This sobering image reminds us that the early life of Jesus was characterised by danger and displacement. In Matthew 2:13-15, we read that, after being warned in a dream, Joseph flees to Egypt with Mary and Jesus during the night to escape King Herod. They, like many in our modern world, left the place they had called home and crossed borders in the hopes of finding a safe place for their family. Surely this shows us that God stands with refugees and migrants through their perilous journeys, and as such we should do the same.
Today, the news is full of stories of people facing conflict, violence, and persecution having to make the agonising decision of staying in an unsafe situation or risking their lives and leaving everything (sometimes even including their own families) behind in the hopes of finding something better. For many in the United States these journeys do not end in safety but rather in Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) Detention Centres where, according to the National Immigrant Justice Center, individuals endure ‘inhumane conditions and rights abuses’ which include medical negligence, preventable death, unjust use of solitary confinement, lack of legal counsel and discriminatory treatment. This method of migration control has become an integral part of Trump's administration, building deportation mechanisms to historic levels. The Migration Policy Institute reported that when Trump returned to office there were 39,000 ICE detainees, with this number rising to 61,000 in by August 2025 - it is expected to have surpassed 100,000 by January 2026. This serves as a prime example of how we treat (or rather mistreat) migrants and those seeking refuge.
While all who are unfairly imprisoned within ICE Detention Centres are vulnerable and poorly treated, perhaps those who face the brunt of this are trans* women where in much of their world their mere existence is criminalized and ‘othered’. Horrifying stories emerging from the United States of America tell of the systematic mistreatment of trans* women in these centres where they face neglect, sexual abuse, starvation, denial of access to vital medication (including the treatment of HIV) and in some cases are chained to their beds. The Intercept reports that ICE is quietly removing the rules and guidelines that would require those running detention centres to treat trans* people with dignity, thus putting vulnerable people at greater risk. This all comes under the guise of Donald Trump’s executive orders to target ‘gender ideology extremism’. This perfect blend of racist, anti-migrant sentiment and transphobia is not exclusive to the US, and anti-migrant sentiment is on the rise in many countries, including right here in the United Kingdom. We are challenged to think about what we can do in our own contexts to help combat this.
The Institute for Strategic Discourse (ISD) found that anti-migrant discourse is rife in the online space, with an increase of 90% in social media posts targeting migrants from 2023 to 2024 and as many as 1.74 million posts in the first six months of 2025 alone, which was close to the total number for the whole of 2024. This is likely not a surprising reading given the riots and protests we have seen in the past year, specifically targeting migrant hotels in the UK, and the rise in support for the far-right party Reform UK. However, the demonisation of and hatred toward people in marginalised groups is something we categorically cannot ignore. If we believe that all people are children of God, then that includes those who are forced to flee their homes in search of safety, just as the infant Jesus and his family did.
When we try to consider ‘what is ours to do’ it can feel like the task is an impossible one. We cannot close the ICE Detention Centres, change immigration policy, or easily change anybody’s political opinion. But that does not mean we are powerless. We can stand up for those who are oppressed in our own contexts (as Jesus taught in Luke 4: 18-19), challenge misinformation and hatred with love (where it is safe to do so), host discussions on this topic (perhaps in your local SCM community), and attend protests and counter-protests to send the message out loud and clear that all are welcome and no human is illegal.
During Advent we reflect on the coming of Christ. Perhaps this year we should do this by thinking about the world he would be coming in to. Are we practicing what he preached, living with love and striving for justice, looking out for the least among us, and building a world which sets the oppressed free? And is this a world that would even accept him?