The relationship between climate change and human migration was highlighted in a recent statement by Rev. Clara Sims, Assistant Executive Director of New Mexico and El Paso Interfaith Power and Light. The organization draws attention to the United States’ historical role as the largest contributor to global climate-changing emissions, noting that this has contributed to environmental and economic instability worldwide. This instability, according to the statement, is forcing people from their homes.
Rev. Dr. Lorraine Cineceros addressed the issue in a public prayer, saying:
"Holy Creator of the Unbordered Sky—
We come to you today not in peace,
but in protest.
We come carrying names they won’t say on the news,
wrists red from zip ties,
hearts scarred from history,
and prayers thick with the sound of our ancestors
saying 'Again?' (full prayer here)"
The statement argues that current U.S. immigration policies combined with existing effects of climate change are creating an unprecedented humanitarian crisis for migrants, particularly those from countries in the global south.
"As people of faith and conscience, we are called to continually connect the dots between climate and migration. We are called to resist the normalization of taking too much from each other and from the earth. We are called witness to the truth of unbordered skies, unbordered rivers, and unbordered hearts," reads part of the message.
The statement also reflects on migration as a natural phenomenon observed across species and cultures: "Migration has always been a holy expression of creaturely existence... Migration is the shape of the monarch butterfly... Migration is the song of the sandhill crane dancing in our fields each winter..."
It concludes with a call for welcoming displaced people with dignity: "As a part of our moral calling to protect Mother Earth, may we seek to create the conditions in which people are welcomed to the places we call home with the depths of dignity and love expressed at the core of all our spiritual and faith traditions."
Rev. Clara Sims signed off as Assistant Executive Director for NM and El Paso Interfaith Power and Light.
