Christians and Immigration

Whenever I cover church politics at Wesley Report, things can get really heated, so more recently, I've been trying to focus on the spiritual side of things. But the more experience I gain, the more I realize that the dividing lines between spiritual and physical and between sacred and secular are not nearly as defined as I'd like to think. Actions in one realm will almost always have consequences (either positive or negative) in the other. Americans in particular have become quite the experts at compartmentalizing faith. Perhaps it's the whole separation of church and state thing we've all been taught. But if we're living on the edge of God's Kingdom, we're going to find that it's hard to avoid politics altogether.

Immigration is one of those issues that the church can't afford to avoid. Every time I seek God's guidance on this topic, I come back to one Bible verse:

Never mistreat a foreigner living in your land. Foreigners living among you will be like your own people. Love them as you love yourself, because you were foreigners living in Egypt. I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19:33-34 GW)

That doesn't mean I'm for opening up the borders haphazardly, but it's important to remember that the United States is a nation of immigrants. There's an interesting article this week at Baptist Press that addresses various evangelical leaders' views on immigration. Evangelicals are certainly not of one mind on this. I find it quite interesting that fewer evangelicals seem to be subscribing to the perceived Republican "orthodoxy".

Probably the most interesting quote in the article comes from Samuel Rodriguez, the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference:

The Republican Party stands at the brink of repeating history by completing a wall, not between Mexico and the United States but between Hispanic Americans and the conservative movement. How ironic. The group that [President Ronald] Reagan believed would invigorate the Republican Party via its traditional values of God, family and country today potentially stands rejected by the party of Reagan. The family values party is alienating the most pro-life, pro-family constituency in America. Go figure.

He's right. And the recently passed Arizona law (signed by a Republican governor) hasn't helped matters for the GOP. I've heard radio talk show hosts and Fox News commentators defending this law, but the fact of the matter is, the law will encourage racial profiling. How would you like to be a Latino citizen of the United States and suddenly feel second class?

But that being said, the boycotts against Arizona (including the one by my own city, Austin) are foolish...  and they'll hurt a lot of hard-working people who had nothing to do with the immigration law.  

It's good to see Christians putting issues before political parties. That's really the way things ought to be.

Comments

[Neil]

There is virtually no impact to Hispanic voting patterns based on this issue. Republicans should not pander.

I laugh when Liberals quote Leviticus 19, considering how they ignore Lev. 18 and so much more of the OT -- and the NT, for that matter. (Yes, I know you aren't Liberal, Shane.)

Was Lev. 19 written to the U.S.? No. Should we treat people kindly no matter where they are from? Of course. But should we obey the laws? Yep. Should we protect the borders? Of course.

The Israelites were not illegal aliens. They were originally given permission to in Egypt.

[Joe]

One can be conscious of treating the "alien in our midst" fairly and with equanimity, while simultaneously believing that a sovereign nation has a right - indeed, a responsibility - to limit or stop illegal entry across its borders. American citizens have an expectation of protection on the part of their government, and a nation that cannot secure its own borders is, by definition, no longer a nation.

This makes no sense to me at all: "I've heard radio talk show hosts and Fox News commentators defending this law, but the fact of the matter is, the law will encourage racial profiling."

Of *course* there will be "racial profiling," because the vast majority of illegal aliens crossing the border in Arizona are of Hispanic descent! Very few Eskimos, South Pacific Islanders, Arabs or Africans are illegally entering Arizona. Would it be more fair to insist that police officers who find cause to ask someone for *legally required identification* only do so once a certain amount of other races/ethnicities have been questioned? What kind of bizarre logic is this? I posit it's the same stupidity that has police officers at airports asking a WASP granny to remove her shoes before boarding an international flight, on the off chance that little Ms. McElroy from Des Moines happens to be an Al Qaeda operative. (Incidentally, the law is overwhelmingly popular in Arizona, among both Democrats and Republicans, so I don't think nefarious Mr. Murdoch is coordinating the spin.)

The United States simply cannot support a massive, unchecked influx of illegal aliens. We have neither the resources nor the capability to do so. To "welcome" illegals into a country spending itself into oblivion is injustice in itself.

Wake me when the UMC Council of Bishops, the UMW, the GBCS and the almost-bankrupt NCC march through the streets of Mexico City, demanding that the Mexican government curb corruption and establish some sense of law, order and equal opportunity - all in the name of "justice."

[Shane Raynor]

Joe,
Police will be able to easily abuse the new Arizona law, and some Latinos who are here legally are going to feel pressured to "prove" their status. I don't have to carry around proof of my citizenship. Why should Latino Americans? Maybe that seems like an exaggeration, but you know there are going to be horror stories and screw-ups with local cops essentially trying to do the jobs of border patrol and immigration enforcement. We do need secure borders but we need to consider unintended consequences of laws like Arizona passed. Maybe you haven't dealt with corrupt police officers, but I've seen how non-white kids are treated by some of the cops here in "liberal" Austin... and we don't even have the Arizona law.

And by the way, the comment about Fox News wasn't a dig. I like Fox News and watch it often.

[Neil]

I'd put all that in the "law of unintended consequences" category. If legal Latinos feel uncomfortable that is unfortunate, but the blame should be directed at the illegals and those who let the problem grow. Don't blame those trying to fix the problem.

[SMokey]

Unintended consequences?

My wife is Hispanic and I can tell you that her having to carry ID papers around to prove her citizenship in AZ is not an unintended consequence. It's as intentional and discriminatory as anything can be.

That is, if we were to visit AZ, which we won't be doing. Why would I subject my family to a state full of racists?

Evil. Pure evil. This is no different than the Arkansas small town in which I grew up. All the blacks were kicked out in the 30s (I never saw an African-American until I was 18 and went to Little Rock) and if the police saw a black person in a car, they'd either pull them over to harass them or follow them until they left town. It's easy for any and all police stops and actions to be 'lawful.'

Selective law and law enforcement based on the color of a person's skin is so far from the Kingdom of God that I cannot see how any Christian can tolerate living in Arizona.

[Chris]

I often see this presented as a justice issue, but I have difficulty seeing it in terms of "justice." Would it be "just," for instance, for the immigrant in the country illegally to receive amnesty when a person who has waited years to enter legally remains unable to do so? I see nothing just about establishing a system where law abiding persons are at a disadvantage while lawbreaking persons are given a pass. Maybe one day someone will propose a reform that will creatively speak to this--but for now, the prospect of failing to enforce immigration law seems patently unjust to me.

[Neil]

Get a grip, Smokey. Just take a drivers' license like everyone else.

Or better yet, everyone who opposes Arizona enforcing this law should send them a whole bunch of money to fund the illegals, and go clean up all the trash and human waste they leave behind.

Calling them racists and evil for trying to keep illegal aliens out is racists and evil itself.

You are accusing all the law enforcement officers of being racists before the fact. Not very Christian.

Have you read the whole bill?

[Neil]

I have helped multiple employees go through the proper channels to become legal immigrants. It is very expensive, stressful and time consuming, and no sure thing, especially post-9/11. Yet we are supposed to let others flood over our borders? Why not let boatloads of Indians and Chinese come in as well? Apparently we have unlimited funds and pay for health care, education, etc. for them all -- out of other people's wallets.

[Robert Dupuy]

The problem with Arizona taking control is they are acting on USCIS status's which are not guaranteed to be correct.

Lost in the debate over 'illegals' is any technical discussion of what constitutes an 'illegal.'

Many people entered the U.S. legally - but through no fault of their own of any kind, they are 'out of status.'

USCIS will send you a letter telling you 'NOT TO LEAVE' the country. During this time, if you left the country, it would be like deporting yourself.

Many thousands of people who are out of status, eventually have their status problem corrected.

They either A) correct the paperwork problem that is claimed to exist - the passport photo was crinkled. B) the $500 fee that you mailed in, the amount was changed. C) their sponsor forgot to sign the affadavit, D) USCIS themselves just go overworked and missed a deadline.

Meanwhile along comes Arizona and checks your status - out of status is the same code for everyone. You are 'illegal.'

The Feds could design a new system that works with Arizona law, but its the tail wagging the dog. It's not up to Arizona to redesign the Federal system.

They are in such a rush to move ahead, they forgot the constitution.

And it's hilarious to see "conservatives" claim they aren't being racist, when if they thought about it, obeying the law is the right thing to do. Such is their rush to condemn, that the law gets tossed aside.

I know the immigration process is very painful, and seeing people ignore it is unfair...but even worse, is going through the process and getting tossed in the same group as everyone else, during my 5 year old's process, she was "out of status" for 2 years, through absolutely no fault of her own.

I maintained she should live with her parents, no excuses.

Do you know the child of 2 american citizens is not automatically a citizen and has to adjust, if that child was born outside the U.S.?

Some things should be automatic, you never deport someones wife...if you don't believe in anchor children, at least believe in anchor parents...a minor child should never be deported if their parents are in the country legally.

Unfortunatley Arizona didn't include any common sense in their law - but to be fair, they couldn't - it's not their job to control immigration, the borders are protected by the Federal government, and that's written directly into the constitution.

[Gary Bebop]

I get a little discouraged as this debate rages. We can bluster and accuse and wring our hands, but the uncapped flow of illegal immigrants is a parable of "no solution"...