Illegal immigration has been a hot topic for several years in our nation, and has ramped up significantly under the last two administrations. Under the Biden administration, there was a large influx of illegal aliens, and now the Trump administration is seeking to deport as many as possible, giving particular focus to those with criminal records (although not exclusively). So, what does the Bible say about foreigners and how we are to treat them? That is what I would like to take a look at in this post.

To gain a good understanding of this, we need to go back to the Old Testament. The children of Israel went down into Egypt during a seven-year famine to be taken care of by their brother, Joseph, who was second in command to Pharaoh. After Joseph died, another Pharaoh rose to power, and began oppressing the Jewish people under cruel bondage. After 430 years, the Lord brought them up out of Egypt to lead them into the promised land. While in the wilderness, the Lord had some things to say about foreigners. He said, “You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” (Ex 22:21) “You shall not oppress a sojourner. You know the heart of a sojourner, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” (Ex 23:9) “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” (Lev 19:33-34) And, “You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native, for I am the Lord your God.” (Lev 24:22) As we can see, we are not to wrong or oppress strangers (foreigners), but we are to treat them as one of us and love them as ourselves. However, once here, they are subject to the same laws and punishments for crimes as we are.

Having borders is nothing new, for nations have had borders for millennia. In fact, the Scriptures teach that sovereign nations are God’s way of restraining evil, and that their borders are actually appointed by God (see Genesis 11:1-9 Acts 17:26-27). Furthermore, The Bible tells us God has ordained human government for the good of mankind, and tells us to submit to that government (Romans 13:1-7). Sovereign nations need secure borders so they can control who enters and exits the country. The issue of boarders is far bigger than the migrant worker. We need the migrant worker, and in the case of North Central Washington, farming would be impossible without them. Secure borders is about controlling the inflow of persons such as Islamic terrorists, foreign operatives of enemy nations such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), human traffickers, and other violent criminals. As we can see then, there is both a Biblical and a practical purpose for nations having defined borders, as well as defending those borders.

Our founding fathers wanted foreigners to immigrate to our country. They understood that America was indebted to emigration for its settlement and prosperity, and they wanted to share it with others. George Washington wrote, “The bosom of America is open to receive not only the Opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religions; whom we shall welcome to a participation of all our rights and privileges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the enjoyment.” However, they wanted whoever immigrated here to live here for a while, to ensure they assimilated into our culture and shared our values before they were naturalized as citizens. Alexander Hamilton wrote, “Some reasonable term ought to be allowed to enable aliens to get rid of foreign and acquire American attachments; to learn the principles and imbibe the spirit of our government; and to admit of at least a probability of their feeling a real interest in our affairs. A residence of at least five years ought to be required.” The spirit of our government is a constitutional republic that is embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.” And, “We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” The founders viewed our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to be from God, and it was government’s job to secure those rights. Incidentally, Christianity and the Bible were influential in forming our constitution and many of our laws. In summary, immigration has been desired from the beginning of our country, but along with it has come the expectation that immigrants will adopt the American way of life, Christianity being a major part of this.

So, in light of this, how should we view the current immigration challenges? From both a Scriptural and a practical stand-point, we need secure borders in order to keep out bad actors and preserve the American way of life. At the same time, we want people to immigrate here legally who want to assimilate into our culture and be productive members of society as many have already done. Unfortunately, there needs to be some vetting process to ensure those bad actors are not allowed in. Once here, we should treat them well and love them as our own selves. After being a resident for a time, then they can go through the naturalization process and be afforded all the rights and privileges of U.S. Citizens. I know there are different visas with varying expirations, but five years seems like a reasonable time frame.

As it relates to illegal immigrants, if they are here without a criminal record, I do not believe it is worth rounding all of them up and deporting them. First of all, our own government has compounded the problem by flip-flopping back and forth on its stance on illegal immigration. Immigrants are told to come here in the masses during one administration, and deported during another. Furthermore, there have been immigrants who have tried to do the right thing, but, due to all the red tape and legal costs, were not able to extend their visas or go through the naturalization process. It’s almost as though the system is set up to reward those who do not care, while making it difficult on those who do. Sadly, immigrants have, to a large extent, been pawns in the hands of politicians, in particular the radical Left. If you are an immigrant reading this, the radical left wants you here, but not for your benefit. They want you here and trapped on all their government programs. They want you trapped so they can control you, starting with your vote. Ultimately, what they want is a Socialist or Marxist utopia, which will be terrible for you and the rest of us Americans. If you don’t believe me, ask the Venezuelans. They were dancing in the streets when our special forces captured Nicolas Meduro. The only ones who will benefit will be them, and that will be short-lived.

The second reason I do not believe we should deport illegals without a criminal record is they may have escaped a terrible existence in their former country. In Deuteronomy it states, “You shall not give back to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you. He may dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it seems best to him; you shall not oppress him.” (Deut 23:15-16) Sending them back to their former country would only subject them to the same or worse. If they are here and are otherwise law-abiding persons and willing to assimilate into American society, I believe it would be best to let them remain here. However, they should seek to go through the asylum process if that applies. If that does not apply, they should seek to become a legal resident or go through the naturalization process because it is the right thing to do in accordance with the Scriptures and the law of the land. As I stated previously, I do not believe it is the best use of our governments time and resources to round up illegals who are productive members of society, nor do I advocate turning anyone in for being here illegally. However, if they do none of these afore mentioned solutions, and are apprehended, they cannot be too upset, for they are here illegally. Should we be separating children from their parents or guardians? No, not unless their parents have a criminal record, in which case it would be no different than any U.S. citizen who is separated from their family for a criminal offense.

If illegal immigrants are here with a criminal record, they should not be automatically deported, but should be tried and punished for their crimes first. If they are murderers, rapists, or human traffickers, it should be a capital offense. This is simply biblical justice. In addition, there is no point in filling our prisons with those types of criminals and be a burden to the American taxpayer. Also, no matter where you stand on the issue, it does not justify violent protests, including assaulting immigration officers. Many of these individuals are being stirred up by paid agitators, but nonetheless, it is not the way to solve our differences.

There is a way to approach this challenge (and any other) in a peaceful and constructive manner: Jesus said, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Mat 22:37-39) “Love does no harm to a neighbor,” and is the fulfilment of God’s law. If we would love God with all our being and each other as ourselves, all these issues would work themselves out. We could come up with a straight-forward and easy method for bringing immigrants into our country, assimilating them into our culture, showing compassion on those less well-off than we are, and do this while still respecting the rule of law. Hopefully this has been insightful and thought-provoking, and can help us navigate these particular challenges our nation is going through.