What Would Jesus Say About Immigration Reform?
CR Newswire (press release), AZ
AUTHORS: Ralston H. Deffenbaugh, Jr., President, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service Bishop Stephen P. Bouman, Metropolitan New York Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Bishop Gerald L. Mansholt, Central States Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
In the weeks following the Holy Days of Easter and Passover, President George W. Bush and members of Congress have turned their attention to comprehensive immigration reform. As a nation, we struggle with how to treat the more than 10 million undocumented immigrants living among us and the thousands more who arrive each year to meet our economy’s tremendous need for skilled and unskilled labor.
What does the Bible say about how we should treat immigrants? Throughout the Gospels, Jesus preached that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Jesus said, “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me.� (Matthew 25:35) What do these words mean for us today? God calls us to welcome, protect, and love everyone in our midst. Our love for the stranger must transcend national boundaries, race, language, culture, and religion. The Bible reminds us that we were all once strangers in a strange land. “The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.� (Leviticus 19:33-34) Nearly all Americans trace their origins to another part of the world. With the exception of Native Americans and African slaves, nearly all of us or our ancestors came to this country to seek a better life—to escape religious persecution, to flee famine, to find work, to join relatives, to pursue the American dream. These are the same reasons today’s immigrants come.
The American migration story is one of our longest and richest traditions. Remembering our own history is the first step toward embracing today’s newcomers. Today’s immigrants hail from all parts of the world They are caring for our children, tending to our ailing parents, harvesting our crops, operating successful businesses, and attending our churches. They are hard-working, family-loving, and God-fearing. They love this country and long to make positive contributions here. Why then is our government engaged in practices that harm and punish immigrants? Instead of welcoming them, our government is locking them up like criminals. Our government has spent billions of dollars to erect the largest detention system for immigrants in our nation’s history. On any given day more than 28,000 immigrants are detained in jail-like facilities—including young children, pregnant women, and families—for no other violation than being present in the U.S. without legal papers. And the numbers are rising. During the past year, at unprecedented levels, our government has conducted massive workplace raids nationwide and deported untold numbers of immigrants who own homes, work full-time jobs, pay taxes, and have U.S. citizen children. Left in the wake of these massive raids are breastfeeding infants needing urgent hospitalization and children with nowhere to go but the foster care system. [more]