Thread: Seeking Biblical Principles to Inform Immigration Policy

Seeking Biblical Principles to Inform Immigration Policy
Scripture provides more than easy slogans and soft platitudes about welcoming foreigners.
James Edwards | posted 9/20/2006 02:22PM


Legislating by anecdote makes for bad public policy. While an illegal alien named Maria, whose story was related in a recent Christianity Todayeditorial, may put a sympathetic human face on the issue, her story of near-rape and apparent Christian faith isn't the end of the story that policymakers must consider.

Indeed, Maria's Christianity doesn't seem enough to prick her conscience over the very real wrongdoing she's done by coming into this country unlawfully. And the fact she's a fellow believer doesn't excuse what she has done or relieve her of a moral obligation to observe the laws.

For every Maria who unlawfully lives and works in America, there are many more would-be Marias back in the home country. And for every Maria, there are many times more Americans, including the native-born, whom Maria is hurting—call them Patricias.

Patricia Morena is an American whose plight was reported in a 2003 Los Angeles Times Magazine story. Patricia, a U.S. citizen, is a single mother with three children, living in a one-bedroom California apartment. She earns pre-tax $300 a week as a motel maid.

The magazine profiled Patricia's life as a poor American whose greatest fear is being replaced by the ever-plentiful illegal foreign workers—newly arriving Marias—who continually depress Patricia's wages. The Times Magazine put it, "Morena can't work her way up the economic ladder because the bottom rungs have been broken off by the weight of millions of new illegal workers."

The average Mexican worker earns 1/12 what the average American makes. But there are 4.6 billion people in the world who earn less than the average Mexican. That's a lot of "willing workers" whose immigration here, lawfully or unlawfully, will hurt the most vulnerable Americans: minorities, the disabled, recent legal immigrants.

The Bible's big pictures
Clearly, if a lawmaker focuses too much on the face of Maria, the face of a fellow American becomes blurred. So how should thoughtful Christians approach the immigration issue? What biblical guidance can guide sound immigration policy?

Several general principles from Scripture form a frame. First, two cornerstone commandments guide us in all things: Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind; and love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said these summarize God's moral law, the Ten Commandments (Matt. 22:37-40). They are timeless, eternally binding upon every person.

Second, God's principles don't contradict one another. Thus, his principles of justice, fairness, and equality not only don't contradict, but are complementary to his principles of mercy. Principles of justice and mercy require us to owe a greater obligation to some people over others.

This becomes clear from specific passages of Scripture. Elements of both sets of principles apply to us individually and corporately.

For example, Exodus 23:2 warns us "not [to] show favoritism to a poor man in his lawsuit," while James 2:1 says "don't show favoritism [to the rich]." James 2:9 cautions that "if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."

In the context of the Golden Rule, a Christian's obligation to show mercy is greater for individuals than could rightly be expected by civil government. Luke 6:30-31 says, "Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you."

Scripture indicates certain priorities of our obligations. 1 Timothy 5:8 teaches, "If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." Clearly, God organizes society around groups of people: families, clans, communities, tribes, nations. The priorities of allegiance are implied in this verse.

Third, God ordains civil government. Earthly authorities are his agents to restrain evil, protect the innocent, and punish the wrongdoer.

Romans 13:1-7 describes the divine ordination of civil authorities. It reads in part, "The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted. … "

Civil governments are part of God's common grace to protect people in a fallen, sinful world. It's why we appropriately owe allegiance to governing authorities of this world. It's also why courts of law assess punishment for lawbreaking, rather than mob rule or a tyrant's whim. This is a characteristic under common grace, the rule of law.

Fourth, the Lord providentially establishes particular governments for particular groups of people in particular places at particular times. This can mean specific forms of government and specific rulers and officials. Daniel 2:21 says, "He changes times and seasons; he sets up kings and deposes them." The same general principle is seen in Acts 17:26 and Deuteronomy 32:8.

Getting specific
After these five general principles, we now can consider immigration in light of four more specific biblical principles.

First, the Scripture passages sometimes referenced in connection with immigration actually speak more to immigrant policy than immigration policy. These are verses such as Leviticus 19:33-34 and Exodus 22:21. The latter passage reads, "Do not mistreat an alien or oppress him, for you were aliens in Egypt."

Such verses call for fairness toward aliens and strangers, the same as how other passages say to treat widows and orphans. Importantly, these passages address treatment of aliens once they are in a country. They don't say anything about the criteria or the process by which aliens originally gained admittance into the nation.

Second, the law in Old Testament Israel required resident aliens to assimilate. They were to adapt to Israel's ways, not impose their own. For instance, Deuteronomy 16:9-15 requires all residents to observe the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Booths. This includes foreigners.

Also, some laws accorded only Hebrews certain privileges. For instance, Deuteronomy 15:3 allows the exacting of credit loaned to a foreigner in the seventh year, when Hebrew debt was forgiven. Yet, the Lord didn't contradict his own commands, nor are they "discriminatory" and unfair towards aliens.

Third, making immigration policy is a legitimate role for civil government. It falls under civil authority's responsibility, acting as God's agent, to determine how many people, and on what basis, by what priorities, through what process to regulate the visitation, permanent residence, and acquisition of citizenship of foreigners.

Immigration regulation is a matter of the government's exercise of prudential judgment. It must rely on assessing the best, most valid and reliable data to make its decisions. And a government's primary duty is to protect the interests of its own citizens.

Fourth, when civil government makes a reasonable (or just) law, moral implications attach. This exemplifies the core Judeo-Christian concept of the rule of law.

Though some things aren't inherently evil, laws develop regulating certain conduct for the public good. Paul Marshall has illustrated this principle regarding driving on the left or right side of the road. He says, "Only after the law is passed do these actions take on a whole new context and become matters of morality."

Marshall notes that most illegal immigrants "simply desire a better life, and are willing to risk their lives in striving for it. … If there were no border then who could object to what they do? It is the fact of a border, a political invention, that makes their action wrong."

Notably, even desperate circumstances don't make a lawless act moral. Proverbs 6:30-31 says, "Men do not despise a thief if he steals to satisfy hunger when he is starving. Yet if he is caught, he must pay sevenfold, though it costs him all the wealth of his house." Maria rightfully should face a very tough penalty, even if driven to lawbreaking for understandable reasons.

Imposing oneself on another society is not a victimless crime. It causes harmful consequences. It is immoral. It breaks or undermines shalom, God's peace that has already been disturbed in this fallen world.

Every Maria who gains a "better life" hurts our Patricias, who have no where else to turn but to the civil government under whom God's providential hand has placed Patricia for protection. Rationalizing immigration policies based on a warm, soft, anecdotal, "feel-good" approach to legislating fails to do justice to fellow Americans. We deserve policies based on the factual, reasoned approach to legislating that places law and order right under biblical principles.

James R. Edwards Jr., coauthor of The Congressional Politics of Immigration Reform (Longman, 199, is an adjunct fellow with the Hudson Institute. This article, as with all "Speaking Out" pieces, does not necessarily represent the views of Christianity Today

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/200 ... -32.0.html

Efforts such as the sanctuary movement, labor organization and welfare provision are efforts at penance for past wrongdoing. These liberals should get with the evangelicals who pursue their ministry in foreign countries---not upsetting the standards in the USA.

I've met hardly any of OBL advocates who realize that Americans as a whole are already doing more than enough to respond to any type of "institutional injustice." This is a movement within conservative, fundamentalist and evangelical churches which has grown rapidly over the last thirty years.

Rom 13;17….let every soul be in subjection to superior authorities.
Titus 3;1..be obedient to government and authorities as rulers.
Luke 2;1-5…a decree went forth from Caesar for all the inhabited earth to be registered…
Acts 24;16…I am exercising myself continually …of committing no offense to GOD and men. (they are breaking our laws and GOD’s laws.)
Rom 13;2-4[b]…â€

Politics and religion, like beer and vodka don't mix well.

Originally Posted by Sam-I-am

Politics and religion, like beer and vodka don't mix well.

GWB would disagree on all fronts

It goes to show that our laws are in alignment with Biblical principles, albeit those laws are not being enforced and upheld anymore, and WE are paying the price.

Sam-I-am wrote:
Politics and religion, like beer and vodka don't mix well.

I guess nobody was around in 1776 to explain that to the Founding Fathers. Politics and religion mixed flawlessly until the term "Liberal" was sired by the atheistic legalists of the 20th century! Funny how the Constitution continues to be twisted and contorted even today, apparently revealing what it was never intended to define or display. Sometimes a history lesson is in order to see clearly what was in relation to what is...

Thank You BetsyRoss for posting this eloquent analysis of something so desperately needing to be said. I know a great many Christians struggle with this issue (I know I have) and I hope this helps them reconcile their feelings and align themselves with scripture.

My pleasure, and thank you diehard for all those verses! I knew there was something fishy about the liberal church's role in championing illegals. Why don't they go champion crime victims, or displaced workers, or something? I think it does us good to have thse discussions as practice for when we are confronted by the religiously motivated illegal supporters.

Sanctuary cities were put in place by GOD to protect accidental manslaughter and not to hide law breakers and the idea that ministers fall back on do not apply to deliberate law breakers. Those law that GOD put is place were because that was the only way accidental manslaughters could be protected. We not have those laws in place and the sanctuaries are no needed anymore.

Sanctuary city officials and church official are guilty of aiding and abetting illegal aliens in breaking the law and should be held accountable for committing a felon. Why are they not charged? Our immigration laws do not work because they are never enforced.
Section 274 felonies under the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, INA 274A(a)(1)(A):
A person (including a group of persons, business, organization, or local government) commits a federal felony when she or he:
* assists an alien s/he should reasonably know is illegally in the U.S. or who lacks employment authorization, by transporting, sheltering, or assisting him or her to obtain employment, or
* encourages that alien to remain in the U.S. by referring him or her to an employer or by acting as employer or agent for an employer in any way, or
* knowingly assists illegal aliens due to personal convictions.

Thank You so very much BetsyRoss and dyehard for posting this information. I am very appreciative of the scriptures that most certainly will be used when the issue of "welcoming the stranger," is argued by many for the support of illegal aliens and to make those of us opposed to illegal immigration look unsympathetic and harsh.

Psalm 91