Protestia has built a reputation for cataloging the mischief of progressive evangelicals and calling out theological compromise. That is why their initial handling of the Samuel Sey matter was so disappointing. Rather than treating the case with the same skepticism they apply to others, they amplified the narrative that his ICE detention was merely a paperwork or clerical error “they are seeking to quickly resolve.” Multiple sources on X were cited. Hope was expressed that the situation would be fixed. The framing was soft, sympathetic, and premature.
This is the same approach we routinely see from Russell Moore, Christianity Today, and The Christian Post. Those outlets have a clear pattern of producing sob stories about professing Christians caught in immigration enforcement. They highlight family separation, appeal to empathy, and often minimize or ignore the underlying legal violations, even in cases involving criminal records. The goal, whether stated or not, is to soften Christian resolve on borders and law. Protestia should have recognized the pattern immediately instead of participating in it.
The clerical-error story was never credible on the available facts. Samuel Sey entered the United States legally in 2022. According to the Department of Homeland Security, he overstayed his authorized admission by more than four years, had no pending applications, and has accepted voluntary departure. He remains in ICE custody until removed. DHS has been clear: “We do not pick and choose which laws to enforce.” Overstay of this duration is not a minor filing glitch. It is unlawful presence. The “sources” who claimed otherwise were either misinformed or motivated to protect a known figure. That should have been obvious from the start, especially given Sey’s own public record.
There is no micro-celebrity exception to the law. There is no Christian exemption from Romans 13 when the state is executing its basic function of regulating entry and removal. Sey has written that “Christian ethics do not denounce deportations. They demand it” because illegal immigration is a crime. Consistency requires applying that standard to him as well. Treating his case differently because he is a podcast host, a teacher, or a familiar voice in conservative Christian circles is the very selective empathy that undermines borders and rewards lawbreaking.
Protestia has since updated its reporting in light of the DHS statement. That is better than silence. But the initial kid-glove posture still matters and remains. Outlets that position themselves as discernment ministries are judged by whether they apply the same standard to friends and allies as they do to enemies. When the story involves an illegal alien who happens to be a Christian influencer, the default should be caution, not reflexive defense of the “clerical error” line.
Worse still, Protestia actively promoted Joel Berry’s GiveSendGo fundraiser, which solicited donations under the false premise that Samuel Sey was a “legal resident of the United States” caught in a mere “clerical mistake.” The campaign, which raised over $27,000 and featured a $5,000 contribution from Jeremy Boreing, explicitly claimed Sey had been living here legally from Canada and that the issue would be quickly resolved, representations directly contradicted by DHS’s confirmation of a multi-year overstay with no pending applications. By sharing the link, praising the donations, and amplifying the “clerical error” framing, Protestia directed good-faith Christians to give money on the basis of material misrepresentations. A discernment outlet should have verified the claims before boosting a fundraiser built on them; instead, it helped market a campaign that presented an illegal alien’s situation as an innocent paperwork hiccup. That is not mere reporting error. It is the promotion of a fundraiser whose central claims were fraudulent from the outset.
The admonition is simple: practice the discernment you preach. Do not outsource initial framing to anonymous sources when official statements and basic immigration timelines already point in a different direction. Do not mirror the tactics of Russell Moore and The Christian Post by leading with empathy and downplaying the legal violation. The law is not the enemy of the church. Selective application of it is. Christ is King, and His people should not flinch when the state enforces the rules that protect the nation, even when one of our own is the one who violated them.
One Response
“The admonition is simple: practice the discernment you preach. Do not outsource initial framing to anonymous sources when official statements and basic immigration timelines already point in a different direction. . . . The law is not the enemy of the church. Selective application of it is. Christ is King, and His people should not flinch when the state enforces the rules that protect the nation, even when one of our own is the one who violated them.”
May this be true with you, too!