What the Bible Says About Our Illegal Immigration Problem

I. INTRODUCTION 

A newsletter former U.S. Representative Randy Forbes once sent on this subject serves as an apt introduction to this study: 

“According to widely circulated news reports, 60,000 youth will cross our nation’s southern border this year, up tenfold from 2011. According to Reuters, the number of illegal immigrants under the age of 18 entering our country is likely to double in 2015 to nearly 130,000, costing American taxpayers $2 billion. So far, unaccompanied youth have been housed in shelters in Arizona and military bases in Texas, California, and Oklahoma. 

This month, the Department of Justice announced a new program to enroll approximately 100 lawyers and paralegals to provide legal services at taxpayer expense to youth crossing our border unaccompanied by their parents. 

Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security announced a renewal of the Administration’s policy to grant relief from deportation to youth brought into the United States illegally by their parents, if they meet certain criteria. According to the Department, as of April, over 560,000 individuals have already received such relief.” 

The above serves to illustrate biblically uninformed thinking. What the Bible has to say about this should lead the Public Servant to vastly different conclusions and actions especially in light of terrorist attacks. 

Before we begin the journey into Scripture on this subject, it must first be said that when it comes to presenting Bible studies on policy issues, it is the responsibility of the careful Bible expositor to discover the analogous, repeated voice of God’s Word on a matter (or if not specifically spoken of in Scripture, to discover and apply related and proper biblical principles). Conversely, it is not the job of the expositor to necessarily offer detailed policy positions or solutions. That’s your job as a Christian legislator, and it is, I might add, a more difficult one. A Bible expositor in the Capitol should be pre-political, or, in other words, offer a biblical basis for policy formation. And, in order for you to do your job effectively and in a way that pleases God, you must first have accurate biblical information. Without this pre-political guidance, it is much more difficult to arrive at policies that are both pleasing to God and beneficial to the advancement of the nation. 

IT’S DIFFICULT TO ARRIVE AT THE PROPER DESTINATION WITHOUT ACCURATE DIRECTIONS 

The book of Judges illustrates and serves to underscore deficient, ill-principled reasoning in contrast to obeying God when it twice says, every man did what was right in his own eyes (17:6; 21:25). This should be our concern regarding immigration policy because biblically uninformed policy inevitably makes for bad policy. 

This is perhaps best illustrated by the No Fault Divorce legislation that Ronald Reagan signed into law as the Governor of California in 1969. He would later state that this was his “greatest regret.”1 The policy backfired, having a deleterious effect on marriage and our country because it is based in pragmatic expedience versus biblical exposition. More specifically, No Fault Divorce laws undermine the biblical teaching of Genesis regarding God’s intended construct of His ordained institution: to cleave (dabaq) meaning “to be joined together” and as a result become one (echad) flesh (cf. Genesis 2:24). Echad carries the idea of “pluralistic oneness.” All that to say, No Fault Divorce serves to illustrate pragmatic-based policy devoid of God’s guidance. It can accurately be said then, that: 

PUBLIC SERVANTS ARE TOO OFTEN PRO-GMO WHEN IT COMES TO MARRIAGE AND OTHER POLICY DECISIONS 

(GMO is an agricultural abbreviation for Genetically Modified Organisms and is a huge concern as man alters the DNA of what God designed.) All that to say, may immigration reform be not driven by expedience and convenience! May “everyone be quick to do what is right in God’s eyes!” As tempting as quick-fix pragmatic solutions might be, they lack God’s wisdom, and therefore end up hurting more than helping the country. Keep this in mind as you weigh immigration reform policy. 

(The intent of my occasional Bible and Policy Series is to provide you with bedrock biblical principles for your framing of God-honoring policies. Hopefully, what follows is a balanced, nutritious meal ready for the diner’s consumption, brought forth from God’s kitchen, without any waiter alterations.) 

II. GOD’S DESIGN: INDEPENDENT NATIONS 

Our understanding and construction of a systematic theology on immigration must begin (like most theology) in the book of Genesis. After the flood in Genesis, chapters 7 and 8, God repeats His command (cf. Genesis 9:1 & 7) to mankind — the one that is first given in Genesis 1:28 — to . . .“Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” Think, then, of Genesis 9 as a makeover. 

A. THE TOWER OF BABEL 

What’s happened here is this: after the fall of man (Genesis 3) God’s creation begins to show an ongoing, increasing proclivity to disobey Him — even His simplest commands. It is this overt, ongoing, and accelerating rebellion that necessitates the flood, the makeover. But inundation did not put an end to insubordination: soon thereafter creation’s defiance of God surfaces again in yet another way. Rather than scatter from the region of Ararat after the flood in concert with His earlier commands to fill the earth, the descendants of Noah willed to do just the opposite! They desired to stay put and build a monument! But this monument was not to honor how great Thou art — rather for how great we are! That monument is known as the Tower of Babel. Note how God reacts to fallen man’s one-nation plans in Genesis 11:6-8: 

The LORD said, “Behold, they are one people, and they all have the same language. And this is what they began to do, and now nothing which they purpose to do will be impossible for them. Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, so that they will not understand one another’s speech.” So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of the whole earth; and they stopped building the city. 

Not good! The descendants of Noah were the first “empire builders,” bent on amassing their personal power. Here then is the underlying biblical reason why God wants there to be a diversity of nations — this is fundamental to understanding the mind of God as it relates to this week’s study. 

THE SIN NATURE IN MAN NECESSITATES THE SEPARATION OF MAN INTO INDEPENDENT NATIONS

This is God’s way of counteracting man’s fallen nature. The axiom, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupt absolutely”2 is underscored by the dispersion of man in Genesis 11. As a matter of fact, it is this same principle of Scripture that informed our Founding Fathers relative to the separation of powers within our one Government. The Tower of Babel illustrates the same idea: that one of the results of man’s fallen nature is his tendency to accumulate and then misuse power. Babel illustrates an all-out quest for a one-nation-in-the-world form of existence and governance, wherein man worships his own greatness rather than God’s. Babel serves to illustrate man’s open defiance of God. Its modern-day equivalent is the philosophy of Humanism. 

B. THE COMING ANTICHRIST 

Further evidence of God’s opposition to a one-nation-world is the future establishment of such a world by the coming Antichrist. Note Revelation 13:7 in this regard: 

It was also given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. 

At this point in time, God will grant Satan and his pawn, the Antichrist, temporary control over civil government as the Antichrist rules over a one-nation-world.3 Thus, both Genesis 11 and Revelation 13, in different ways, serve to underscore this biblical truth and rudimentary principle in the formation of a theology on immigration: 

GOD DESIRES THE WORLD TO BE INHABITED BY NUMEROUS INDEPENDENT NATIONS 

This foundational premise is where our study of immigration must begin because many things flow out of it: For instance, some people think that God today is for a borderless world. He is not! It follows from Genesis 11 that nations, by God’s design, are to have different languages, cultures, and boundaries. Out of necessity and remedy for the fall and the power-hungry presence of sin, it is easy to understand why this is God’s blueprint for today. In this way God is more apt to receive glory from His creation than if, like the prideful world-conquering empires of history — Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome, the dream of Hitler, or that of the coming Antichrist — mankind becomes caught up in self-worship and uses his unchecked amassing of power to abuse others whom God has created in His own image and likeness. The witness of history, however, is this: the diversification-of-nations principle has been violated by many would-be world conquerors. Accordingly, and importantly, so the Lord scattered is a passage one must count as fundamental to the immigration debate. Summarily, this is the reason and the basis for multiple, independent nations, the existence of which is so fundamental to a proper Christian worldview and understanding.4 

III. GOD’S DESIGN: BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES 

It follows that, if God’s design is for independent nations, then there must be national borders and boundaries for those independent nations. And it follows that there must be enforcement of borders and boundaries by governments in order to maintain a nation’s independence. All of this logically flows from so the Lord scattered. 

Now add Romans 13:1 from the NT to our theological construction. This passage expressly states and reinforces the proposition: God is the author of independent nations: 

Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 

Notice the last part of this passage: those which exist are established by God. Scripture teaches not only that the Lord scattered people, but in addition, specifically that He established governments and nations. These are key constructive, essential principles relative to immigration. In addition, note that this is all part of what theologians term the mediatorial reign of Christ, i.e., how God in His sovereignty manifests His reign during His physical absence prior to His second coming wherein He will personally reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. 

That the will of God is for the existence of independent nations with national borders and boundaries is further evidenced by God’s descriptive words relative to the classification of people in the OT nation of Israel: 

IV. GOD’S DESIGN: COUNTRYMAN AND SOJOURNERS 

In numerous OT passages, the student of Scripture learns that the God of Israel distinguished among three types of people in the land; those are summarized in the following sidebar. 

DISTINGUISHING PEOPLE IN ANCIENT ISRAEL 

DESIGNATION          KNOWN AS          HEBREW WORD

Citizen                        Countryman       Ach  

Legal                           Sojourner            Ger/Toshab
Immigrant                       

Foreigner                  Illegal                  Nokri/Zar 

The above are important biblical monikers of distinction that God makes relative to people in a given country. An Israelite citizen is referred to as a countryman (ach) in Scripture, whereas a legal immigrant is referred to as a sojourner (ger) or toshab, and a foreigner is called an illegal (nokri) or zar. Important to this study, and evident from the OT, is that an illegal did not possess the same benefits or privileges as a sojourner or countryman. This fact can be illustrated from many passages. Notice, for instance, the words of Ruth the Moabite and her response to Boaz the Israelite in Ruth 2:10: 

Then she fell on her face, bowing to the ground and said to him, “Why have I found favor in your sight that you should take notice of me, since I am a foreigner?” 

Not only was Ruth a foreigner (nokri), an illegal immigrant, she was a Moabite illegal, who according to Deuteronomy 23:3 was forbidden to migrate into Israel altogether! For Citizen Boaz to entertain Ruth at all was remarkably generous and gracious, and possibly even against the law of the land. (Perhaps Boaz already had in mind legitimizing her status by marriage.) The point is that Ruth’s self-declaration serves to underscore the classification of people in and by ancient Israel. 

Furthermore, a citizen/countryman was expressly forbidden to take advantage of or mistreat a legal immigrant, known as a sojourner, per Exodus 22:21 and Deuteronomy 10:19 respectively: 

“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt (ESV).” 

Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt (ESV). 

Informing an immigration theology, a sojourner could be likened to a legal immigrant and a foreigner could be likened to an illegal immigrant today. Note Hoffmeier, a biblical expert on this subject:5 

A sojourner (sometimes translated as stranger) was a person who entered Israel and followed legal procedures to obtain recognized standing as a resident alien. 

Hoffmeier goes on to say, that on the other hand, Israel treated illegal immigrants differently: 

Illegal immigrants should not expect these same privileges from the state whose laws they disregard by virtue of their undocumented status. 

These standard categories of one’s standing in a given nation, and the differentiation between citizens, immigrants, and foreigners are representative of the will of God. In fact, these categorizations have been the distinctions in the mind of God ever since He scattered the people into different nations in Genesis 11. Further, the classification of people today in most every nation is based on Israel’s OT example. Summarily it follows: 

THE GOD OF INDEPENDENT NATIONS DIFFERENTIATES BETWEEN THE PEOPLES OF NATIONS

Therefore, governmental leaders today in every nation — to be biblically accurate — should invoke and staunchly maintain legal distinctions of status between their resident peoples: 

Citizens, Immigrants, and Foreigners. To remain biblical, these distinctions should never be obliterated. No reformed immigration policy should attempt to eradicate these distinctions; to do so is to posture oneself as more knowledgeable and insightful than God. 

V. GOD’S DESIGN: UNDERSTANDING IMPARTIALITY AND HIS IMAGE 

Why have I spent so much time on matters that seem so basic? As obvious as the aforementioned points may seem, there are those who believe that because God calls us to be impartial, and because God created all mankind in His image (Lat: Imago Dei), that believers should be the leading proponents of a borderless world — one with no classifications or categorizations of people within a given country! Such a perspective, however, misunderstands what biblical impartiality and Imago Dei mean and do not mean. For instance, Leviticus 19:15 defines and properly contextualizes the concept of biblical impartiality: 

“You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly.” 

In discussing impartiality, God does not scrub the aforementioned distinctions of various people in Israel; impartiality nowhere in Scripture negates the aforementioned precepts of one’s legal status in a given nation. This passage points to the fact that to treat one illegal immigrant who possessed wealth differently from one without money is what is partial. To say that God created everyone in His image does not negate the biblical concepts of, in this case, legal status in the land: to clarify the point, a bank robber, a murderer, and an illegal immigrant are all created in God’s image, but that fact does not place them above the law of the land! Often, attempts are made to foist impartiality or Imago Dei onto the discussion about immigration policy. Such attempts, however, serve to reveal the proponents’ ignorance or else deliberate twisting of Scripture. 

VI. GOD’S DESIGN: PROTECTING THE CITIZENRY 

It is critically important for Public Servants to understand and apply the aforementioned biblical precepts relative to the formation of immigration laws because Romans 13:1-7 and 1 Peter 2:13-14 imply that in God’s mind, in His economy for creating nations and governments, He intends for the leaders of a nation to protect the citizens of the nation. Note in this regard Romans 13:4: 

. . . for [Government] is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. 

In this passage, Paul, a citizen of the Roman Empire, is addressing believers who are citizens of the Roman Empire living in the capital city of Rome. Not only does he state here the need for citizens to abide by the rule of law, which includes immigration law, but in addition, he implies what the motive should be behind the legislators’ (ministers [diakonia], meaning “servants”) lawmaking: to look out for the welfare of citizens; i.e., such laws are intended to you for good. 

It is not overreaching to reason from this passage that immigration laws, like all of a nation’s laws, should stem from a desire to protect the nation and its citizenry.6 That protection should deter a myriad of intrusions by illegals: weapons of destruction, disease, property and job theft, the importation of illegal drugs, and the like, which could result from illegals who have never pledged their allegiance to the nation and its laws, but rather have broken the laws of the land by entering the country illegally. 

In that God intends for citizens to obey their governing authorities, and in that those authorities have deemed positive and negative migratory policies (again, assuming their laws have been informed by Scripture), it follows that: 

THE IMMIGRATION LAWS OF EVERY NATION SHOULD BE BIBLICALLY BASED AND STRICTLY ENFORCED — ALL WITH THE UTMOST CONFIDENCE AND ASSURANCE THAT GOD APPROVES SUCH ACTIONS BY THE NATION’S LEADERS! 

Similar to a parent who incorrectly feels guilty for spanking a rebellious child because his conscience is not sufficiently informed by Scripture, the conscience of the lawmaker, too, should be informed by God’s Word on this subject. And God’s Word says He frowns on illegal immigrants — just like He says He frowns on children ruling the roost! 

VII. GOD’S DESIGN: RESTRICTIONIST NOT RACIST 

It need be especially underscored that an advocate of immigration restriction is not necessarily a racist. Policies preventing illegal immigration should stem from biblical motives of ensuring the general welfare of the nation versus denying a would-be immigrant the potential for a better way of life. To procedurally exclude foreign individuals who might be criminals, traitors, or terrorists, or who possess communicable diseases is not racist in the least! It is good stewardship to protect the citizens of a nation who have unmistakably pledged their allegiance to that nation and their fellow citizens! Holding to a biblical theology on immigration in no way implies that one is necessarily a racist! 

VIII. GOD’S DESIGN: BOUNDARIES EQUATE TO COMPASSION 

One additional misnomer that is common to current debates on immigration is the charge that those who are tough on immigration are patently compassionless. Just the opposite is true! This can be illustrated in a myriad of ways: One is an economic argument: 

IN A WORLD OF LIMITED RESOURCES AND GDP, FOR A NATION NOT TO ENFORCE BOUNDARIES OR DEFENSES RELATIVE TO ALIEN INCURSION IS, IN THE END, COMPASSIONLESS

Such leniencies, as evidenced by current American immigration policies and the facts quoted in the introduction to this study, eventually bankrupt the treasury. This happens when non-citizens are the recipients of endless entitlement grants, health benefits, employment insurance, education scholarships, etc. — all given to those who have never pledged allegiance to the flag that they willingly take from! A nation with overly lenient immigration policies will always end up insolvent. It’s difficult to manifest compassion when you are bankrupt yourself. 

IX. GOD’S DESIGN: ADDITIONAL PRINCIPLES 

The standard of Scripture on immigration is obvious, consistent, and not difficult to understand. 

THE QUESTION AS TO HOW A NATION THAT HAS SO WILDLY STRAYED FROM GOD’S STANDARD AND RETURNS TO GOD’S STANDARD IS A COMPLEX AND DIFFICULT ONE

Stemming from the biblical precepts examined, there are at least six NT biblical principles that add additional insights on this matter: 

A. GOVERNMENTS MUST PROTECT THEIR PEOPLE 

As gleaned from Romans 13:4, Paul states under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, for it [government] does not bear the sword for nothing. Governments are to seek the welfare of their people by punishing evildoers (1 Peter 2:13- 14). People who are illegals are a threat to the welfare of those who are citizens. It is out of an inherent desire imbued by their Designer, that governments want to protect their citizens as a mother does her child — and if they don’t, they should. In terms of immigration, for a government to be pleasing to God and receive His blessing, it has no option but to protect its citizenry from illegal immigration per Romans 13:4 and 1 Peter 2:13-14. It must always protect its borders and punish those who enter illegally. Any governmental response that is less than this violates God’s clearly revealed intention for government and invites chaos (as we now are seeing on our southern borders). 

B. PERSONAL INDUSTRIOUSNESS, NOT GOVERNMENT, IS GOD’S MEANS OF PROVISION FOR INDIVIDUALS 

Part of the curse of the fall of man in Genesis 3:17-19 was the economic necessity that man would now have to work in order to obtain necessary provisions. Paul restates this same idea when he reminds the Thessalonians that Jesus did not come to abolish the need for personal industry: 

For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either (2 Thessalonians 3:10). 

The institution of government is not God’s intended means for providing for people; rather government’s role is limited to the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right (1 Peter 2:13-14). 

GOD INTENDS FOR PEOPLE TO SUPPORT THEIR GOVERNMENT, NOT FOR THEIR GOVERNMENT TO SUPPORT THEM

Fundamental to immigration reform is the need to remove the magnet of alluring governmental entitlements that serve to entice illegal entry. Such forms of provision are not pleasing to God and only work to destroy personal honor, character, and productivity in the recipient. Government entitlement programs are not biblical for anyone, let alone illegal immigrants. Nowhere in Scripture does God state that He created His institution of civil government to meet the needs of the people. (In other Bible studies I explain in much greater detail that God ordained the institutions of marriage, family and Church to meet the needs of the distraught, among other purposes — but not the institution of civil government!) Said again for emphasis, God intends for people to first meet their own needs; but if for some legitimate reason that is impossible, their needs are to be met by other individuals in their family, or else the Church, but not the State. In the genius of God, the real needs of the individual can be met much more effectively and efficiently through those closest to him or her than by the impersonal institution of the State. 

C. GOVERNMENTS MUST FURTHER THEIR COUNTRIES 

Akin to the previous point, also based upon Romans 13:4 is the inherent responsibility of a government to advance the country, meaning its leaders will want to enact immigration policies that only allow people into the country who can advance it, not detract from it. It also means that its schools should prioritize the enrollment of its citizens over immigrants and exclude illegal immigrants. 

D. GOVERNMENTS ARE ENTITLED TO COLLECT TAXES 

In that every country is competing with others in the world market, the less the tax the more competitive the nation. Having stated that, God grants every government the right to collect all forms of tax from every citizen. Note Romans 13:6-7: 

For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due . . . 

Especially interesting to this topic, the Greek word for taxes (phoros) specifically relates to the taxes a person would need to pay to those who conquered their nation. The double emphasis being this: Even if one is in subjugation to a foreign leader (which is the case with an illegal immigrant), he is nevertheless biblically obligated to pay taxes. Further, the word for render (apodidomi) has the connotation of “paying something that is owed.” 

If concessions are granted to allow illegal entrants to obtain citizenship status over a period of years while remaining in the country as a part of comprehensive immigration reform, then this biblical insight needs to be taken into consideration in a God-glorifying workout plan. Illegal entrants should have to pay, at the least, their fair share of taxes (if not more as a fine for past lawless actions). 

E. GOVERNMENTS MUST PUNISH EVILDOERS 

Again, in Romans 13:4 God intends for governments to bear the sword relative to enacting justice. They are to be an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. This means government is sanctioned, bound, and responsible to punish those who break the law. There must be an extraction of due recompense for crimes committed, including illegal immigration, in order for a government to be characteristically just with and to all of its citizens. Appropriate and just fines need to be levied, both if illegal entrants choose to stay and work toward citizenship or choose to leave. God’s attribute of righteousness and justice means there is always to be a payment to balance an offense (versus simply letting an illegal go back to his or her country with no fines). This principle suggests that immigration reform must demand a cost for those who have entered America illegally. In light of this principle, 

IMMIGRATION AMNESTY CREATES AN INJUSTICE TOWARD THOSE WHO HAVE INSTEAD WORKED THROUGH THE LEGAL PROCESS TO BECOME CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES 

F. GOVERNMENTS CANNOT SHOW PARTIALITY AND BE JUST 

When you think about it, whereas God, individuals, families, churches, and corporations can manifest grace and mercy, the institution of government must be just. Whenever government favors one group over another, it manifests corporate injustice. Therefore, fundamental to immigration reform is the need to demand that illegal entrants meet the same requirements as others who have legally obtained citizenship status. 

X. APPLICATIONS OF THEOLOGY 

What follow from these exposited biblical principles are at least six applications relative to immigration. These need to be manifest in comprehensive immigration reform in order to create laws that are in line with, and pleasing to God. They are: 

A: Foreigners should not be allowed unregulated entry into a country. Borders and oceans should be impenetrable so as to discourage illegals entrance. 

B: Foreigners should not be able to partake of any governmental entitlements. (Governments should not be in that business to begin with.) Nor should they be allowed to have any licenses, legal identification, or enrollment in any institutions. 

C: Foreigners who can help advance (not detract) should be afforded sojourner/ immigration consideration. It follows then that foreigners who are already in the country seeking citizenship should have citizen-sponsors who can testify to their past value, productivity, present character, and loyalty. 

D: Foreigners should be required to pay taxes similar to those paid by citizens, both present and past due. 

E: Illegal entrants, whether headed toward citizenship or expulsion, should be justly punished. 

F: Not all of the responsibility of illegal immigration should be placed on the shoulders of each illegal immigrant because of the simple fact that the institution itself, the Government of the United States, has continually violated the biblical principles associated with immigration. The repeated, long-term violations of the institution itself in specific regard to having fostered and prolonged illegal immigration need to be taken into consideration in working out the problem. 

At the risk of crossing the line from the expositor’s discipline of being pre-political only, governmental inaction coupled with entitlement magnetism has led to an inordinate number of people who now live here illegally. It follows that in the quest for God-honoring justice, governmental exceptions need to be made to achieve a successful workout plan for a stated period of time; it is not as if the institution has clean hands in this matter. In this vein of thought, ensuing actions of immigration reform and restitution should not be construed as an unjust display to those who have gained their citizenship legally, as much as it is the manifest, public repentance of our government for having prolonged, having knowingly and repeatedly broken God’s principles relative to the aforementioned. 

May God grant you, our lawmakers, wisdom in crafting this last point into a policy that is pleasing to God. I pray for you in this regard. cm