ABSTRACT
Tensions between empathy and legitimacy pervade legal questions in general and migration law in particular. The U.S. Supreme Court’s reinstatement of DACA and the trials of Cédric Herrou in France and Scott Warren in Arizona highlight the interplay of these principles, which also appear throughout the interdisciplinary reflections in this volume. The legal and theological contributions herein contest rigid categories of legal citizenship and ostensible rationales for enforcement mechanisms that fail to disclose dominant ideologies or lived practices of membership. In so doing, the volume suggests a path forward for the law of migration beyond standard theoretical approaches. Taken together, the contributions in this volume emphasize: (1) the need to contextualize migrations and to move ethical and policy considerations beyond individuals as sites of enforcement; (2) the importance of unmasking ideological drivers of policy; (3) the role of power; and (4) the opportunity to recognize new understandings of citizenship “from below.” Religious resources can help counter false narratives and shape possibilities for change in light of these shifts, serving migrant and settled communities alike and fostering hope amid the uncertain and dangerous signs of the times.
