How Should Christians Feel About Illegal Immigration? Part 1
On January 21, at the traditional post-inauguration prayer service, Bishop Mariann Budde all but scolded President Donald Trump with her opinion on how to handle illegal immigrants in our country. After a call to “pray for unity as a nation,” she commenced to stir up a hornets nest of division that continues on social media to this day. She became a darling of the Left because they could point to her as a “religious leader.”
But does her title and standing in the Episcopal Church give her the moral high ground to be a spokesperson for Christianity in general?
“Blind Guides!”
She called on Trump to have “mercy” on illegal immigrants, but made no mention of mercy for the families of victims who were brutally raped and murdered by some of those immigrants. Jesus called some of the religious leaders of His day “blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel” (Matthew 23:24). That’s exactly what Budde did.
She said the “undocumented” immigrants and their families were afraid of being separated. When a person breaks the law, they probably will live in a certain amount of fear, always looking over their shoulder. Romans 13:1-2, 4 says,
Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God. So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished. The authorities are God’s servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you.
So, how should we feel about illegal immigration from a Christian perspective?
First, can we all agree that God has ordained borders? Deuteronomy 32:8 tells us,
When the Most High assigned lands to the nations, when he divided up the human race, he established the boundaries of the peoples according to the number in his heavenly court.
That’s underpinned in the New Testament by this verse in Acts 17:26:
From one man he created all the nations throughout the whole earth. He decided beforehand when they should rise and fall, and he determined their boundaries.
Matthew 25:35 is the verse most often quoted by those who want to advance an open, or at least a more lenient, border-control policy. While speaking of those who would “inherit the Kingdom” at the final Judgment, Jesus said,
“For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in.”
The Greek word for “stranger” here is xenos. This is where we get our word “xenophobia,” which is a fear of strangers. Individuals who use that verse will often pivot to this inscription on the base of the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”
How can we be obedient to Jesus and Lady Liberty and still advocate for a secure border?
A Gargantuan Little Word
It’s simple: We can do that by relying on one little five-letter adjective, “legal.” We have been a very generous nation in this regard, and if you think otherwise, I recommend you spend a half a day at Ellis Island. The number of legal immigrants we have welcomed into our country is nearly 50 million — about 15% of our total population.
Others point to scriptures like Leviticus 19:33-34, which says,
“Do not take advantage of foreigners who live among you in your land. Treat them like native-born Israelites, and love them as you love yourself. Remember that you were once foreigners living in the land of Egypt.”
Or, there’s this verse in Exodus 12:49: “One law shall be for the native-born and for the stranger who dwells among you.”
Sojourners, Foreigners, and Visitors
In the Old Testament, there are various English words used in different translations for immigrants, including “sojourners,” “foreigners,” and “visitors.” These are translated from different Hebrew words in the original text and have different meanings. I’m not a Hebrew scholar, but the Hebrew word transliterated as ger appears to be referring to a legal immigrant, which is the word used in both of these aforementioned verses.
The Hebrew words transliterated as nokre and zur appear to refer to illegal immigrants who did not possess the same benefits as a ger. We see this distinction in Deuteronomy 14:21: “You must not eat anything that has died a natural death. You may give it to a foreigner (ger) living in your town, or you may sell it to a stranger” (nokre). The Israelites were also allowed to charge interest to a nokre but not to a legal Israelite (Deuteronomy 22:30).
Yet another Hebrew word transliterated as toshav appears to have refer to a person holding the equivalent of a green card or visa. This word is sometimes translated as “resident alien” (AMP) or “temporary resident” (NLT). We find it in Leviticus 25:35:
“If one of your fellow Israelites falls into poverty and cannot support himself, support him as you would a foreigner (ger) or a temporary resident (toshav) and allow him to live with you.”
Nolan Lewallen is a retired pilot of a major airline who lives near Stephenville, Texas. His two great passions are the Bible and politics. He is the author of The Integration of Church & State: How We Transform “In God We Trust” From Motto to Reality, and Yeshua Is Still the King of the Jews.