The Bible instructs God’s people to show compassion and love for the foreigner and the immigrant. Scripture bases this command on the fact that the Israelites were themselves aliens in Egypt and experienced harsh mistreatment at the hands of their task masters. (Deut 10:19) Throughout the Bible, God shows concern for the immigrant. Abraham “lived as an alien in the land of promise” (Hebrews 11:9), and Jesus lived as an alien while a child in Egypt after his parents fled persecution under Herod.

-Matthew 2:14

Scripture combines this obligation to care for the alien with a corollary responsibility of the immigrant to obey the law and respect the customs of the nation in which he resides. In the Old Testament, the same law applied “to the native as to the stranger who sojourns among you.” (Exodus 12:49). Those immigrants who obeyed the law were to share in the inheritance of Israel as if they were native-born.

-Ezekiel 48:22

Evangelicals understand the importance of caring for immigrants, particularly those who are fleeing persecution of any sort. However, bad open border policies like those of the Biden administration set the entire system back, no longer distinguishing between refugees and asylum-seekers and criminals or even dangerous foreign nationals from hostile countries. The record unchecked influx of migrants across the southern border is stretching resources, increasing crime, and raising serious concerns about national security. 

In order to have a properly functioning immigration system that actually allows us to bring in the best and brightest, and provide compassion to those who deserve it, America must secure our southern border, take account of who has come across in recent years, and get the legal immigration system back in order. While we prioritize long-term fixes to the system on issues like family-based immigration and visa reforms, no real changes can take place until the border is secured and the rule of law is restored. 

America must secure our southern border, take account of who has come across in recent years, and get the legal immigration system back in order. While we prioritize long-term fixes to the system on issues like family-based immigration and visa reforms, no real changes can take place until the border is secured and the rule of law is restored.