In my research for this column, I came across several great
conversations/columns on immigration from a Christian worldview. (They are archived here.)
While examining these conversations, one thing is clear: even within the
Christian community there is a wide variety of opinion on how best to reform
our immigration policy. This is even true, though to a lesser extent, in the
more conservative evangelical community.
What makes the issue of immigration more challenging than
topics like abortion or marriage is that there is not clear-cut biblical
direction on the matter. Some who favor a more liberal position on immigration often
point to Leviticus 19 or Deuteronomy 24 (go read them) when making their
arguments in favor of an open-borders type policy.
However, as Alan F. H. Wisdom, then vice president of the
Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) noted nearly three years ago, “The
United States is not analogous to ancient Israel Israel
were non-Israelites who were permitted to pass through or reside in Israel Israel
Wisdom adds, “Weighing the costs and benefits of immigration
is complex. Immigrants often have valuable skills. Their cultures enrich our
national life. The Christians among them can renew our churches with their
fervent faith. At the same time, large-scale immigration imposes burdens.
Taxpayers bear new expenses for education, social services, health care, and
law enforcement.”
Weighing the cost of illegal immigration must be an
important part of any discussion on immigration reform. A
2010 study says that the cost is $113 billion annually. According to the
report, the single largest cost—about $52 billion a year—comes from educating
the children of illegal immigrants. “Nearly all those costs are absorbed by
state and local governments,” the report concludes. This is significant
because, although illegal immigrants do contribute to the tax base (through
sales taxes and the like), they rarely are property owners and local property
taxes are the chief source of funding for public education.
In addition, uninsured illegals cost American taxpayers over
$4 billion a year in healthcare costs. This includes receiving Medicaid
benefits. According
to Kaiser Healthcare News, “Federal law generally bars immigrants who enter
this country illegally from being covered by Medicaid. But a little-known part
of the state-federal health insurance program for the poor has long paid about
$2 billion a year for emergency treatment for a group of patients who,
according to hospitals, mostly comprise illegal immigrants.”
One often neglected aspect of this debate, especially within
the Christian community, is the role of the Mexican government in the matter.
Whatever the number of illegal immigrants is (Some
estimates
place the current total at about 11 million. Others say the
number may be as high as 20 million, while
some put it at over 40 million.), there is little doubt that most hail from
Mexico Pew Hispanic
Center report said that 56% were from Mexico
Most of these Mexicans are poor, low-skilled laborers who
are looking for a better life in the U.S. Mexico seems very content with the status-quo
when it comes to the virtual open-border policy that currently exists within
the U.S.
Of course, to a great extent, illegal immigrants don’t have
to “afford” things in America
However, as FrontPage also notes,
with so many Mexicans able to leave their country for work and welfare, the
Mexican government has little incentive to improve conditions there. And despite decades of illegal immigration, economic and
living conditions for poor Mexicans have improved little, if at all. Thus, the
current immigration policies of the U.S.
have made us an enabler, hurting not only the American taxpayer, but the
millions of poor who are still living in Mexico
It should be pointed out that, if we did not have the
massive welfare state that exists (for citizens and non-citizens alike) in America
If within the Christian community we can’t even come to a
consensus on matters such as abortion, homosexuality, and marriage, it seems to
me very unlikely that we will ever get to a clear agreement on immigration.
What Christians should seek, says Dr. Daniel Carroll Rodas, Distinguished
Professor of Old Testament at Denver Theological Seminary and author of Christians at the Border: Immigration, the
Church, and the Bible, “is a moral compass from the Bible, not a blueprint
for policy. To imitate how an ancient people dealt in its laws with foreigners
in that agrarian peasant context does not make sense…But this legislation was
seen as judicious and as a pointer to the God of Israel (Deuteronomy 4:5-8). In
other words, the law contains a set of enduring principles that can be carried
across borders and across the centuries.”
And just as was ancient Israel
Though we are a nation of laws, those
laws should not be 1200 pages each! (Such volume alone should disqualify
any bill.) Writing in the Federalist
Papers, James Madison instructs us that “It will be of little avail to the
people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so
voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be
understood.”
Lastly, as well meaning Christians debate immigration, we
must remember that, along with the obvious call to be compassionate and
forgiving, as Mark Tooley, the current president of the IRD puts it, we must
remember “Christianity’s understanding of the state’s divine obligation to
enforce laws and protect its people.”
(See this column on American Thinker.)
Copyright 2013, Trevor Grant Thomas
At the Intersection of Politics, Science, Faith, and Reason
Trevor and his wife Michelle are the authors of: Debt Free Living in a Debt Filled World
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