A Theology of Immigration

Like a happy little cloud, the thought of beginning with a satirical cartoon floated through my mind's sky. But you've seen enough of those, and they aren't all that happy. This is a space for real conversation, and careful consideration isn't exactly fostered through pencil-sketch mockery.

This is no small issue. Immigration, I mean. Especially for the so-called "Religious Right." But if the "Right" is so very "Religious," which in the West invariably means "Christian," how is it that Immigration reform for the good of the immigrant is such a taboo topic? It certainly isn't taboo in the Bible. Both Testaments have a great deal to say about the treatment of foreigners, even if that shouldn't necessarily be applied to public policy. We do live in a post-Christian society, whether we wish to admit it or not, and that isn't going to change. But shouldn't the Christians be the ones advocating for the foreigners? I reckon that neither the Right nor the Left's immigration policy has anything to do with Christianity.

While it may be an oversimplification of an anything-but-simple issue, I would point to a single passage when it comes to Christian Immigration:

When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The 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; cf. Deuteronomy 10:19; Exodus 22:21)

Translation: Treat those who are not natives in your country just like you'd treat your own kids. Would you want your own kids to be able to go to the hospital, even if they'd gone down the wrong path and spiralled into drugs? I did that once, and I'm sure glad people treated me well. Would you want your children to be allowed a job in a safe and healthy environment? Or a spot in a classroom with their peers?

And the justification for all of this? "Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt." Mutual understanding; intimate knowledge of the suffering of the foreigner. It is a problem, I'd be willing to argue, that most of the Right doesn't have much intimate knowledge of the position of a foreigner. Neither do I. But there is a second justification:

I am the Lord your God.

The emphasis misses us in the English, but consider reading the "I" as of foremost importance here.  I am the Lord your God.

"Me - the one who has grace for the lost and lowly, who has mercy on the sinner, who has chosen you to be the light of the world, who is faithful even when you are not, the one who sees your trouble and cares for you - it is I who am your source of life, your leader, your provider. I am the Lord your God."

And so, love the outsider. Act with grace toward the addicted immigrant. This is evangelical.