Joint Statement from Global Ministries (UCC and Disciples) and the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) on the Discriminatory United States Visa Bond Program

“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” – Amos 5:24

As partners in the Gospel for more than 30 years, Global Ministries—representing the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ—and the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) stand together to denounce the implementation of the expanded United States Visa Bond Program. Our shared work is rooted in the core values of presence, mutuality, and community. We believe in walking together in a relationship of equality, being present with one another in times of trial, and building a global family of faith that transcends borders.

The AACC, representing over 200 million African Christians across 43 nations, brings to this partnership its values of “life, peace, justice, and human dignity’ coupled with the spirit of Ubuntu, the profound recognition that “I am because we are.” This policy of isolation is a direct affront to AACC values and the African worldview of interconnectedness, attempting to sever the spiritual and cultural anchors that connect Africa to the global body of Christ.

This Visa Bond Program is not merely a policy affecting a list of abstract “countries”; it is a direct assault on the real people with whom we (GM) have been in mutual relationship for more than a century, some spanning nearly 150 years. We have walked alongside our partners in the aftermath of natural disasters that devastated cities and entire villages, as they provided critical support to survivors of human trafficking, and worked tirelessly to expand education and access to life-transforming healthcare in the most marginalized communities. We have shared in fellowship and worship, learning more about the ministries of the global church and deepening our commitment to our common witness.

To demand an upfront payment of $5,000 to $15,000, in addition to standard visa processing fees, is an undue and unnecessary burden on our Christian partners. This policy, which targets travelers from specific nations across the African continent and the Global South, is a manifestation of the enduring legacies of colonialism and white supremacy. From the AACC’s perspective, this is a form of “Diplomatic Apartheid” that resurrects the ghosts of the Berlin Conference, where African movement was dictated by the whims of foreign powers. While the United States celebrates the “Beloved Community” during the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, it simultaneously implements a financial wall that treats our siblings not as children of God but as security risks and economic commodities.

By creating a two-tiered system of global mobility based on economic status, this policy reinforces a world order where the movement of Black and Brown bodies is policed and penalized. The AACC views this as a moral crisis; it is a modern-day extraction of wealth from the Global South, forcing the most vulnerable to pay for the “privilege” of professional exchange and spiritual fellowship. This economic gatekeeping effectively silences the African voice in global ecumenical dialogue, ensuring that only the wealthy may testify to their faith on the international stage.

From the perspective of Christian liberation theology, we recognize that God has a preferential option for the marginalized. Our faith teaches us that the structures of this world must be judged by how they treat “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40). To demand a costly bond from an African sibling while welcoming a European sibling without such a burden is a violation of the scriptural command to “not oppress a resident alien” (Exodus 23:9). It is difficult for us to find another word for this treatment than racial discrimination, or racist policy.

We call upon the United States government to immediately rescind the Visa Bond Program and move toward a system rooted in equity and justice. The AACC joins Global Ministries in asserting that dignity cannot be collateralized. We remain committed to a theology that breaks chains and insists that no child of God is “less than.” We will continue to labor together in mutuality and community until the “ever-flowing stream” of justice reaches every shore.

Global Ministries Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ