Flight into Egypt 1868
Immigration has historically been a hot topic, and this election cycle is no different. Unfortunately, many Christians have too often chosen to ignore, neglect, or simply explain away passage from scripture that doesn't fit our view of the world. In the Old Testament, God had much to say to Israel about their approach to the foreigner, stranger and alien in the land. In Scripture, Moses reminds Israel that because they experienced enslavement and oppression while living in a foreign land, their approach should therefore be radically different. Immigrants should be met with hospitality, justice, and fair pay. If indeed God owns everything (Ps 24:1) and we have been blessed with God's gifts of grace in life and salvation, we should respond to others, especially foreigners with generosity.
As Christians we should always be particularly concerned for those that are most economically vulnerable, and these groups can include the disabled, the elderly, the poor, and immigrants. As such, we as Christians cannot tolerate in our society voices that are reacting towards immigrants with fear and racism. While anyone that has committed crimes should be prosecuted and their victims compensated, and while we have the right and obligation to secure our borders from terrorists, human traffickers, illegal drugs, and violent persons, and while we have a right to enforce our national immigration policy as a matter of law, we are called to do so with compassion and mercy, both for citizens and for non-citizens. We have a moral obligation to uphold human rights of all persons. We also need an immigration policy that is economically realistic. We should have a procedure whereby those fleeing economic or political oppression in their homelands can become lawful residents here. We should never criminalize immigration. We cannot blame the crimes of a few undocumented people on all undocumented people, nor use that as a justification to take away their human rights. The following scripture verses shows God love and concern for the 'outsider'.
Scripture: all references from the NRSV
I charged your judges at that time: Give the members of your community a fair hearing, and judge rightly between one person and another, whether citizen or resident alien. Deut 1:16
...Who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. Deut 10:18-19
You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the LORD against you, and you would incur guilt. Deut 24:14-15
You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this. Deut 24:17
Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice.” All the people shall say, “Amen!” Deut 27:19
For if you truly amend your ways and your doings, if you truly act justly one with another, if you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not go after other gods to your own hurt, then I will dwell with you in this place, in the land that I gave of old to your ancestors forever and ever. Jer 7:5-7
The word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying: Thus says the LORD of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another; do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another. Zech 7: 8-9
Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action. 1 John 3:18
Many Christian denominations have had a long tradition of standing for a just immigration policy that rejects xenophobia, racism, and violent towards immigrants. The following is a summary of key items that an compassionate immigration policy may include. It is possible to balance both God's love and justice for the migrants as well as protection from those with criminal intentions.
- We have a right as a nation to protect our borders and to identify and prevent entry to terrorists and dangerous criminals.
- We have a right to set our own immigration policies; however in doing this, we should always have Christian compassion that respects the human rights of groups and individuals.
- We should strive to make policy in line with economic realities, giving opportunities to those that would come for honest work.
- We should call for safe working conditions for workers, and work towards greater economic development in poor countries.
- We should strive to keep families together, there is no reason to tear families apart or continue the detention of children. We should work to create easier legal avenues for workers and families who wish to immigrate to the United States to come and work in an orderly manner that protects both their right and those of citizens.
- We should strive for a policy of "advocacy and welcome": to allow an opportunity for hard working immigrants who are already here to come out of the shadow and become lawful residents.
- People should always be treated with respect, and consistent with humanitarian values, making sure all migrants have access to due process. Migration should not be criminalized nor immigrants treated as criminals.
Although no immigration policy is perfect, and in the United States competing agendas makes this political process difficult, as Christians, we are called to an even deeper reality than whatever policy is implemented. We are following the "kingdom principles" that God calls us to embrace. As such, this become more a matter of our heart and our behavior. It become a question of how we embrace the people around us, how we think about our world, and where there are areas that the Spirit is still calling us to submit to the Lordship of Christ because we may still harbor prejudice, fear, jealousy, suspicion, or even hatred. This election season may be a good time for us to examine our hearts and see if we are reflecting the compassion that God has called us to have towards our fellow humans.
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