The recent attempts by illegal aliens to storm the border and enter the United States raise the question of whether or not Christians should support President Trump’s policy of zero toleration of illegal immigration. Some have stated that the Bible requires an open borders policy and letting all the illegal aliens in. On the contrary, I believe it is biblical (and therefore just and moral) to uphold President Trump’s policy and NOT to let illegal aliens into the United States.
I support the president’s policy for the following three reasons:
1. The Bible upholds the right to self-defense.
The Bible upholds your right to defend yourself.
If God allows individuals to practice self-defense in the Bible, then it is just and right for whole nations to do the same to protect themselves, especially for a nation at war with murderous jihadists, narco-terrorists, gang-bangers, human traffickers, and a host of other bloodthirsty criminals. According to the Apostle Paul in Romans 13:1-4, government is appointed by God to restrain evildoers. The same passage adds that government is entrusted by God with the use of force (“for he does not bear the sword in vain”) to stop those who would harm innocent people.
It is clear to me that those who blatantly refuse to obey the law and attempt to illegally enter the United States do not have good intentions. If they were sweet little innocent people they would follow the processes to legally enter the country and not try to rush the Border Patrol.
Even an MSNBC reporter admitted that most of the members of the famous caravan are grown men who are NOT seeking asylum, and not moms carrying little children.
DHS also confirmed that members of violent gangs are liberally sprinkled throughout the caravan. The Bible says it is right to protect the innocent and defend the defenseless, and if it is foolish and evil to let dangerous criminals into your home to do whatever they want, why is it okay to have open borders (or no borders) for an entire nation and let anyone in?
For those who believe in open borders (or no borders at all), remove the locks on your windows and doors and let anyone into your home whenever they want. Or better yet, give out copies of your house key and car keys and distribute them at your local homeless shelter.
Sure, there are some decent people there, just like there are among the illegal aliens. But are you going to indiscriminately hand out your keys without carefully vetting people? No? Then why should we indiscriminately let people into our country (especially in a time of war) without carefully vetting them?
It is the biblical responsibility of nation-states to guard borders securely in order to protect citizens. Without secure borders there is no nation-state, and no security for its citizens.
2. The Bible upholds the sovereignty of nations.
Throughout the Old and New Testaments, God honors the boundaries of nations. Acts 17:26 says that God determines how long nations will last, and where their boundaries will be.
The same God determined that the Canaanites were finished as a nation, and revealed to the Jewish people that they would posses the land. When God promised the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, He clearly marked out the boundaries for Israel as being from “the River of Egypt [a wadi in the Sinai peninsula] to the great river, the river Euphrates” (Genesis 15:18). God respected the border of Egypt, and did not give that land (or Babylon) as the promised land to Israel.
The Bible tells one little story that illustrates this quite well. In Numbers 20:14-21, Moses was leading the several million Hebrews out of the wilderness to the land of Canaan when he came across the kingdom of Edom (the southern part of modern-day Jordan). What did he do? He asked permission to peacefully pass through Edom on his way to the promised land. The king of Edom refused passage to Moses and Israel.
So Israel just rushed the border and overwhelmed Edom’s defenses, right? Nope. “Thus Edom refused to give passage through his territory, so Israel turned away from him.” How about that? Israel respected Edom’s borders.
One more passage illustrates this quite well. In Joshua 15-21, the Lord marks out the boundaries of the 12 tribes. They were not to scatter willy-nilly throughout the land, but rather to stay within their God-ordained borders. Furthermore, Joshua 20 describes the “cities of refuge” where people guilty of manslaughter could go to escape the vengeance of next of kin (20:9). So long as they stayed within the borders of that particular city, they were safe. God respected those borders and told his people to also. Apparently, we should respect borders today as well.
3. God upholds just and fair laws for all people.
Leviticus 24:22 tells us: “You shall have the same rule for the sojourner (foreigner) and for the native, for I am the LORD your God.” God does not want one set of laws for one group of people, and a completely different standard of justice for others. The Bible tells us that He is “not a respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34). That is, He sees everyone under the same standard of justice. For example, in Exodus 23:3 and Leviticus 19:15, God says His people are not to show favoritism to the poor or to the great, “but in righteousness shall you judge your neighbor.” Just because someone is poor does not mean that he gets ahead of the line.
Currently, U.S. law states that illegally entering the United States is … illegal. That means if I, as a U.S. citizen, cross over from Canada or Mexico into the U.S. without going through a legal port of entry and without showing my U.S. passport, I will be GUILTY of a crime.
So, how can people from other countries, without the permission of our government, waltz into the United States without being penalized? U.S. citizens cannot illegally enter, but people from Central America or the Middle East can?
We were treated this past summer to stories of how horrible it was for children to be separated from their parents who were illegally entering. Yes, it is horrible for children to be separated from their parents. However, if American parents commit a felony, it is standard operating procedure to remove their children from their custody. How is it fair to remove children from U.S. citizens who are felons, but NOT do the same to illegal aliens who are trying to illegally enter our country?
Many authors have quoted the Bible to support their views about illegal immigration. They reference numerous passages that show God’s love and concern for the foreigner/sojourner. Deuteronomy 10:17-19 is an example of the commands to be kind to foreigners.
God does indeed love them as He loves us all. However, if you cite one of these verses, kindly read the verses around them as well. God also — at the same time — expects ALL of the foreigners/sojourners to obey the just laws of Israel. They are NOT allowed to disobey the law. They were ALL held to the SAME standard of law as the people of Israel.
What are illegal aliens currently doing in the U.S.? They are NOT obeying the laws of our land. Our laws as they stand today are just. Those who are seeking asylum can apply like anyone else. They are not above the law. No one should be.
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