Video from American Moment
Pastor Doug Wilson — Christians and Immigration
"Douglas Wilson, Senior Minister at Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho, speaks on what a Christian response to immigration might look like at American Moment's Theology of American Statecraft: The Christian Case for Immigration Restriction event in September 2023." from video introduction
American Moment's "Moment of Truth" Podcast is recorded at the Conservative Partnership Center in Washington DC, produced and edited by Jared Cummings.
OPINION: IMMIGRATION IS A GOOD THING WHEN IT IS DONE THROUGH THE CORRECT LEGAL PROCESS
"Many Christians claim that their political beliefs are rooted in Scripture but leave those ideals on the sidelines when the topic of immigration comes up. Donald Trump’s “Build the Wall” mantra dominated Conservative politics during his presidency, but what does the bible have to say about the issue? Many Christians — including myself — are guilty of being too harsh on immigration policies and should embrace a sensible but more open pathway.
Although modern immigration involves economic and national complexities, the Bible has a lot to say about foreigners. The children of Israel experienced many modern immigration issues, from exiles to deportations to slavery. Their interactions with neighboring countries and people groups resulted in a surprising abundance of orders concerning immigrants, or “foreigners.”
The Bible is clear about the need of caring for the oppressed and needy. It may not provide specific guidance for policies like DACA or travel visas, but the general principles still apply. Many groups that try to immigrate to the United States have the need for a stable country, and the Bible says we should provide justice and opportunity to these people.
With this pro-immigrant outlook comes the drawback of illegal immigration. On the one hand, Christians should be supportive of accessible legal immigration, but the Bible is also clear about enforcing law and order.
To be clear, illegal immigration should not be tolerated.
Exodus 12:49 calls for equal administration of the law by both citizen and immigrant: “The same law applies both to the native-born and to the foreigner residing among you.” This submission under the law assigns accountability to migrants just as much as it does to Christians..." from the article: OPINION: IMMIGRATION IS A GOOD THING WHEN IT IS DONE THROUGH THE CORRECT LEGAL PROCESS