Jesus and the GOP: Immigration

The Right’s Stance

The right usually wants to restrict almost all immigration.  There are, apparently, some strange moments where they reject deals that they had just been clamoring for only because Trump doesn’t want to provide Joe Biden with a political win before the election.  But even if Congress is confused and tripping over itself to follow Trump’s wishes, the words of both the GOP congresspeople and GOP voters is strongly anti-immigration (and also anti-immigrant).

Amongst Republican governors and leaders, there has been a battle of sorts to see who can be the toughest on immigration.  “Build that wall” has become a consistent rally chant of the right since Donald Trump entered the political arena.  There was even a knock-off Lego toy.  They want to increase border security.  They want to drastically limit asylum.  They want to increase deportations and they don’t want to establish a way for illegal immigrants to legally remain in the United States.  In addition to that, the right, especially under Trump, has championed separating families at the border, holding migrants in crude and inhumane detention families, and denying asylum-seekers due process.  Trump has said at his rallies that he is planning “the largest domestic deportation operation in American history.”  This plan aims to deport millions every year, including those who’ve been in the US for decades, as well as building large detention camps, suspending the refugee program, and again implementing bans from Muslim-majority countries.  Trump and others on the right also repeatedly refer to immigrants as “animals,” says that “they’re not human,” and has pushed false stories about Haitian immigrants eating pets just to further vilify them.

Scripture

Here is what scripture teaches about God’s view of immigrants and foreigners.

33“ ‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. 34The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’ “
– Leviticus 19:33-34

15The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before theLord: 16The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.’ ”
– Numbers 5:15-16

5If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever. 8But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.
– Jeremiah 7:5-8

Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
– Hebrews 13:2

‘If any of your fellow Israelites become poor and are unable to support themselves among you, help them as you would a foreigner and stranger, so they can continue to live among you.’
– Leviticus 25:35

And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
-Luke 10:27

Takeaway

God clearly desires for his followers to show love and grant equal standing to foreigners.  We are to welcome them and treat them “as [our] native-born” or “as [our]selves.”  To do this would mean creating open paths to citizenship, granting equal rights and legal protections, providing equal access to jobs, etc.  Instead, conservatives are demonize them, slandering them, and actively cheering on the idea of the largest deportation ever.  We cannot love immigrants as ourselves if we are trying to deport them, to retain power and privilege over them, or are concerned that they might “replace” us.  Sadly, as many outside the faith have clearly noticed, the policies of the GOP that most Christians support clearly do not line up with the teaching of Jesus or principle of the Kingdom of Heaven.