This question was addressed by Fleur Houston, author of You Shall Love the Stranger as Yourself, at the Churches’ Refugee Network (CRN) conference on 22 Nov 2016 in Coventry.
The conference aimed to bring together and to resource those appointed within the churches and church-related charities to welcome and support forced migrants.
Fleur reminded the delegates of the contrast between the positive welcome received by a relatively small number of resettled refugees and the harsh treatment experienced by those who have been obliged to ‘use illicit means of entry to a safe country’.
You can listen to or read the whole of Fleur Houston’s talk to the Churches’ Refugee Network conference on the Focus on Refugees website.
We also have a summary of how the Churches are responding to the refugee crisis.