Christians and Illegal Immigration

In the majority of my blogs I have been focusing on the major hot-button issues usually associated with the judgmentalism of Christianity, namely homosexuality. I have also discussed abortion from time to time. Today I pick up another topic that may not be an obvious part of this judgmental Christian attitude but is nonetheless implicit in how people feel about Christians. That topic is illegal immigration.

Implicit in my blogs so far, I hope, is the idea that Christians are neither Republican nor Democrat. If you go to the Christian section of the bookstore, inevitably you will see books titled “Why Jesus was a Democrat” or “Jesus the Republican.” But I’ve got news for you, Jesus knew nothing of Republicans or Democrats when he was on Earth, and he would not fall on either side of the aisle. There are issues Jesus would support that would make him a Republican, and there are issues he would support that would make him a Democrat. It would not be accurate to box Jesus in by saying he was affiliated with the GOP or the DNC. So the topic of the Christian response to illegal immigration goes beyond the question of whether you vote Republican or Democrat.

I like Tony Campolo’s description of a “high walls, wide gates” stance in his book Red Letter Christians. He admits the problem that would occur if we allowed anyone to just walk into our country. We need to know who is here lest we allow someone with a criminal history to enter our country or someone who is associated with terrorism or drug running. We need to be careful because many of the illegal immigrants who have come into the United States, do have criminal histories and commit further crimes subsequent to entering the U.S. So the “high walls” part of Campolo’s ideology is that we erect the necessary infrastructure to prevent anyone from entering our country without getting a background check and informing the government that they have entered the country.

At the same time, Campolo suggests “wide gates,” acknowledging that many of the people who come into our country, do so because of bad circumstances in their own country. They come here for asylum. Just a couple of weeks ago I heard a story about a gay man who was held up in a U.S. prison awaiting deportation back to Uganda where heavy persecution against homosexuals is taking place. Many are being killed over there, and yet our current laws say to send him back even though he came here to escape death. Our laws do not allow for looking at individual situations and making exceptions. Right now, in order for someone to come into the U.S. legally, they have to have a sponsor already living here and it takes upwards of $3000 - $5000 to come here legally, and that is after waiting for 5-7 years at the least. If you need to escape persecution quickly, it is not that easy unless you do so illegally. So the “wide gates” part of this whole thing is allowing immigrants an easier way of entering the country so long as they pass the background test and let us know that they are here.

But what does Jesus say about this topic. First we can start in Leviticus 19:34 which says, “The alien who resides among you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the LORD your God.” It is obvious here that whether the immigrant is here illegally or not, they are to be treated with the same love and compassion with which we treat our own citizens. Unfortunately, much of what I hear in reference to illegal immigrant is hate speech. I know that they did not come here the lawful way. And I know that there are many who come here illegally that are already criminals or drug runners in their own country. These people need to be sent to jail and deported back to their country where they can face the justice system. But others come here for protection and help, like the young man I mentioned above who came here for protection against persecution for his sexual orientation. In Matthew 25:31-46 Jesus speaks of rewarding people on the day of judgment for feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, inviting in the stranger, and so on. In the same passage Jesus says those who neglect to do those things will be punished. By neglecting to help those from other countries who are being persecuted, or are in dire situations, we are like those in this passage who Jesus says will be punished. Jesus asks us to show love and compassion to those who are in horrible situations, and many who come to the U.S. illegally are those seeking to escape those situations. Instead of hate speech and lack of sympathy, let us remember the love and compassion Jesus showed and work to emulate him with regard to illegal immigrants. That is what Jesus did.
Blessings,
-Brandon