It’s no secret that the majority white evangelical Christians within the nation voted for Donald Trump in 2016. However one current survey finds that, if the election had been tomorrow, his margin of victory with white evangelical voters can be simply 38 factors, dramatically down from his benefit of 61 factors over Hillary Clinton. Evangelical voters are having second ideas.We’re a white evangelical married couple dwelling in Georgia. We’ve got each labored on evangelical missions throughout varied cultural contexts, and are completely dedicated to upholding the dignity and value of all human life, together with those that will not be but born. However having witnessed the detrimental results that the administration has had on susceptible folks, notably refugees and different immigrants, we’re among the many important variety of evangelical Christians who is not going to vote for the president once more.Our important values haven’t modified since 2016. We had been uncomfortable again then with the credible studies of his marital infidelities, his bullying tone, and disparaging feedback on immigrants. However we additionally had been, and definitely nonetheless are, deeply dedicated to defending the lives of kids within the womb and the liberty to apply our religion with out interference. We felt that we had chosen the lesser of two evils once we voted.Whereas the president has delivered on some problems with concern to us, reminiscent of financial reforms and commerce offers, his immigration insurance policies are merciless, undermining his pledges to life and spiritual freedom. For example, whereas we cherish unborn lives, we additionally value the lives of hundreds of kids who had been separated from their moms or fathers by the “zero tolerance” insurance policies of the administration on the Mexican border in 2018.Our dedication to life additionally compels us to do all the things that we will to finish human trafficking. The administration has determined to droop the life saving components of the Trafficking Victims Safety Reauthorization Act, the passage of which evangelical Christians proudly championed underneath George Bush and the flouting of which evangelical ministries like World Imaginative and prescient and Worldwide Justice Mission have decried.Our convictions on life are also why we strongly consider america ought to proceed to be, within the well-known phrases of George Washington, “a safe and agreeable asylum to the virtuous and persecuted part of mankind, to whatever nation they might belong.” Moderately than proceed the life saving custom of asylum and resettlement of refugees, the administration has shut out persecuted refugees with its immigration insurance policies.Denying asylum to these fleeing persecution isn’t a dedication to life. Since many are fleeing persecution on account of their religion, it undercuts the pledge of the president on non secular freedom. Because the alarming findings from evangelical ministries Open Doorways and World Aid observe, the variety of refugees from nations the place Christians face essentially the most persecution is on observe for a decline of 90 % this 12 months versus 2016.This isn’t what the president promised to evangelical voters. Throughout his first week in workplace, he criticized the earlier administration for admitting too few Syrian refugees and promised to help them. However then, simply hours after he made that pledge, he signed an government order that dramatically restricted the variety of refugees to enter america, together with an indefinite ban on all Syrian refugees. Certainly, fewer Syrian Christians have been resettled within the nearly 4 years of the present administration than within the final 12 months that Barack Obama was in workplace alone.With these harsh insurance policies, the president has misplaced our votes. That doesn’t essentially imply we are going to vote for Joe Biden, however our consciences is not going to enable us to vote for Trump once more. We consider he might change his thoughts. He might set the refugee ceiling on the historic regular of 95,000. He might restore the asylum program. He might additionally work with Congress to move the immigration reforms primarily based on restitution, advocated by a broad vary of evangelical Christians, that might create a brand new authorized pathway to eventual citizenship, which Bush and Obama tried however did not do.We all know it’d take a miracle for the president to reverse course on his immigration insurance policies at this level. However except he does so, he’ll forfeit our votes and, because the polls counsel, many others as properly.Ryan Hurlburt and Katharine Hurlburt are voters who’re primarily based in Georgia.
