(RNS) — During the inspiring General Conference this past weekend, Dallin H. Oaks, the president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, reminded us to be peacemakers.

“As followers of Christ, we should seek to live peaceably and lovingly with other children of God who do not share our values and do not have the covenant obligations we have assumed,” Oaks said. “In a democratic government we should seek ‘fairness for all.’”

“Fairness for all.” This is what, as an advocate for immigrant rights, I have been fighting for during the 2026 Maryland legislative session in supporting the Community Trust Act. This piece of legislation would limit state and local law enforcement in assisting federal immigration authorities and is a No. 1 priority for immigrant families. It would enshrine into Maryland law what the U.S. Constitution makes clear: Due process is a right granted to every individual on our soil, including immigrants and those behind bars. 

According to the 2024 Cooperative Election Study, an estimated 15% of LDS members are either immigrants or first-generation Americans. The Latter-day Saint immigrant community is ever increasing in number, including members with immigration statuses that run the full spectrum — from fully undocumented to naturalized citizens. 

I see this diversity within my church because I am part of that 15%. As a formerly undocumented member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I wonder what would be my fate if I were undocumented now, during these heightened and eerily troubling times for undocumented people.

I came to the United States at age 5 and have lived here from kindergarten to graduating with a bachelor’s degree and now continuing with a career in public policy. This is the life that my single mother envisioned for me when she made the brave decision to leave behind a broken home and ultimately all her family in Honduras to give me a better, brighter future. Almost a decade after migrating to the U.S., it was through my mother’s guidance that I was introduced to and met with missionaries of the LDS church. I have a deep love for family, and I found belonging in the church’s teaching of eternal families and its focus on Jesus’ and God’s love being everlasting.

As we continue to see how fear reaches the streets and homes of many LDS members and our neighbors across the country — people living with the constant worry of encounters with immigration enforcement, regardless of their criminal history — we are faced with an important question: When we see immigrants, do we instinctively see a problem to solve, or a child of God? 

As a daughter whose family has been separated by erroneous and unconstitutional government actions, I wholeheartedly know that on this past and every Resurrection Sunday, Jesus rose for everyone, regardless of their labels and regardless of the labels placed on them by others. Jesus the Redeemer saw everyone the same and extended His hand with love. 

As we continue to contemplate the message of the Resurrection, of Easter, of our newly upheld LDS prophet and of our church leaders, I have been thinking a lot about peacemakers and labels. For those outside the LDS faith, “peacemakers” and “labels” can mean many different things, but for many Latter-day Saints, the terms might bring to mind our beloved prophet Russell M. Nelson, who died last year.  

As father, husband, doctor and, at the time, president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Nelson said of such labels: “First, I am a child of God — a son of God — then a son of the covenant, then a disciple of Jesus Christ and a devoted member of His restored Church.”

If we truly believe we are children of God, that identity must shape how we see others. It is easy to say the words; it is harder to live them when we encounter someone who speaks differently, looks different or whose life circumstances are unfamiliar to us. To describe them, do we lead with the label “child of God,” or do we quietly replace it with something else: “outsider,” “stranger” or, even worse, “illegal?” The labels we choose inwardly in our hearts ultimately determine how we treat one another outwardly.

In a secular political world that has described non-U.S.-born citizens as closer to criminals than children of God, we must reconcile fact against feelings and dissect where those feelings come from. Firstly, simply being without legal immigration status in the U.S. is not in itself a crime. And when we conflate it with someone’s integrity, we are using labels that result in spiritual suffocation for both for the sender and receiver. 

Secondly, it is true that scapegoating ethnic and religious minorities is well-tread historical ground in the U.S., and immigrants have always made for an easy target. Chinese, Irish, Italians, Muslims, Mexican, all these people and more have been falsely accused of bringing crime into the country, particularly during times of economic or political unease.” Latter-day Saint pioneers, their descendants and even converts to the faith should know this very intimately. Was it not persecution that kept the Saints moving westward in the 1800s? Was it not anti-Mormon violence, sanctioned by state decree, that exacerbated violence against the Saints?

Today, some Americans continue to peddle the same, tired myth about minorities, creating insecurity and hurting community safety for some. Yet, when it comes to immigrants, the facts are that welcoming immigrants into American communities not only does not increase crime, but can actually strengthen public safety. Immigrants — including undocumented immigrants — are less likely to commit crimes than U.S.-born citizens. This is true at the national, state, county and neighborhood levels, and for both violent and nonviolent crime.

As Latter-day Saints, if we are to claim to love our God and our neighbor, I urge us to start by acknowledging that the Constitution, its principles and protections also extend to immigrants like me. Our Christlike love should not stop at the chapel’s door. And I ask you to join me in calling on your Maryland state senator to prioritize and pass the Community Trust Act. 

(Ninfa Amador-Hernandez is a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, an immigrant from Honduras, formerly undocumented and an immigrant justice advocate. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)