Born in Guatemala, Karen González emigrated to the United States with her family as a child. But she didn’t encounter a theology of migration until much later when “reading rabbis, reading their interpretation of the Hebrew scriptures … introduced me to Ruth and Naomi as immigrants. And that their whole story is a story of migration, of leaving, of returning, of entering a community. I think the story of Ruth is a beautiful picture of what the world could be like or what our country could be like if we welcomed immigrants. Because there you see, not judgment, but you see a community that actually obeys the commands of God.” As a speaker, writer, public theologian, and immigrant advocate, González uses her own story and the stories of biblical immigrants to make the case for more welcoming immigration laws in her first book, The God Who Sees: Immigrants, the Bible, and the Journey to Belong (2019). Her second book, Beyond Welcome: Centering Immigrants in Our Christian Response to Immigration (2022), seeks to elevate the church’s discourse around immigrants from a position of simple hospitality to a place of deliberate “listening, learning, and engagement.”
In addition to her writing and speaking work, González has been a nonprofit professional for the last 15 years. Currently working as global director, human resources, for the International Youth Foundation, she has bylines in Sojourners, Christianity Today, and the Baltimore Sun, and is the cohost of the Latina-focused podcast Café with Comadres.
Instagram: @_karenjgonzalez
Twitter: @_karenjgonzalez
https://www.karen-gonzalez.com/
