The Immigration “Issue”
A very hot topic in our culture, and an oddly avoided one In the church, immigration.
Many of us cringe at the word knowing it has every chance to start a debate. Even amongst Christians and friends there are great rifts in conviction and political allegiance. The tension is so strong that silence often feels safer than risking misunderstanding, conflict, or fractured relationships.
When most Americans hear the word immigration, they don’t first think of people — they think of a problem to solve. They see overwhelmed border systems, economic pressures, crime concerns, and headlines designed to provoke fear, outrage, and hate.
For some, showing compassion to outsiders feels like lawlessness; for others, it feels like injustice. Because immigration has the ability to affect security, jobs, culture, and politics all at once, the conversation quickly becomes emotionally charged. People often feel that if they concede even a little, they are betraying either their values or their neighbors.
Talking about the immigration “issue” is so difficult — and few topics expose our deeper anxieties more quickly. However, it is too important to keep silent about. I hope after reading this post you will feel compelled and equipped to shed some light on the immigration debate in your churches and circles.
The Other Lens
We often look at immigrants through an “other” lens — as outsiders, problems, or political categories — instead of as people. That subtle shift in perspective allows distance to grow in our hearts. Instead of seeing brothers and sisters made in God’s image, we see strangers who disrupt our comfort. When we don’t put a face on immigrants, or don’t know an immigrant personally, it’s easy to stop seeing them.
The dehumanization of people becomes the quickest way to let harmful rhetoric and treatment slide. Instead of recognizing members of the body of Christ in need of love and grace, we label them as statistics or threats.
When we forget that we, too, were once strangers welcomed by mercy, compassion begins to erode.
Removing the “other” lens means choosing to see immigrants not as outsiders to manage, but as neighbors to love and fellow image-bearers Christ calls us to embrace. Seeing every immigrant as a person is the first step to understanding and speaking knowledgeably about immigration.
God Calls His People Foreigners!
Throughout the scriptures God refers to His people as foreigners and sojourners (immigrants). In the Old Testament we see references to a time when the Israelites were foreigners in Egypt. Moses on his journey to the promise land. Also when the Israelites were exiled to Babilon.
I will unpack some of these verses below:
Genesis 12:10 – Abram sojourns in Egypt during famine (this is humanitarian immigration, escaping famine or danger in one’s home country for a temporary time).
Genesis 15:13 – God tells Abram his descendants will be “strangers in a land that is not theirs” (God literally sends Him to a foreign land as an immigrant)
Exodus 22:21 – “You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (A reminder to look back to where we have come from and realize none of us are entitled to the place where we live)
Leviticus 19:33–34 – Command to love the foreigner as yourself. (One of many verses about what our attitude should be towards the immigrant)
Leviticus 25:23 – “For you are but aliens and sojourners with Me.” (Here God tells his people that they should not sell the land they inherited because none of them actually own the land, it belongs to God and He is letting them live on it as immigrants)
Leviticus 19:23-24 - “‘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.” (The Biblical teachings on welcoming strangers never differentiates between status, ethnicity, or the deserving and non-deserving - the focus was on the ethical treatment of all people)
Deuteronomy 10:19 – “Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.” (Again we are commanded to love the foreigner remembering that we too came from other lands)
Deuteronomy 23:7 – Reminder to not hate those who have a mixed bloodline with the Israel because Israel lived at Egypt’s mercy as immigrants. (This is a call to be grateful and let our actions reflect our gratitude)
1 Chronicles 29:15 – “For we are sojourners before You, and tenants, as all our fathers were.” (Another verse speaking of God’s people as immigrants)
Psalm 39:12 – “For I am a stranger with You, a sojourner like all my fathers.” (David, though removed from his immigrant ancestors in the past and the king of his own nation, chooses to identify with them in being a sojourner)
Psalm 119:19 – “I am a stranger in the earth.” (We, as Christians, are all sojourners on Earth because Heaven is our Eternal home and what we were made for)
This use of the word “sojourner” continues in the New Testament. Talking about (Christians) as immigrants on this Earth while our true citizenship is in Heaven.
Then Acts 17:26 says; “from one man He has made every nation of men to live all over the earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.” Here we see that God’s hand directs where people live. He has not erred in allowing America to become the melting pot of cultures, a showcase of people from all nations working together to form one society of great beauty.
What’s Best for Me? — The Subtle Idol of Self-Preservation
Within the church there is a growing culture of individualism that is shaping much of the immigration debate. The question is no longer, What is just? or even What is wise? but, What protects my comfort? My safety? My resources? My way of life?
As Christians, we must be honest about this instinct. Scripture consistently challenges this posture of self-preservation. Jesus tells us to love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31). Paul calls believers to look not only to their own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). The early church was marked not by guarded scarcity but by radical generosity (Acts 2:44–45).
When immigration conversations are framed primarily around personal inconvenience — “Will this affect my job? My taxes? My neighborhood? My security?” — we may unknowingly be centering ourselves as the highest good. That posture mirrors the broader culture of individualism more than the kingdom of God.
This does not mean Christians must support open borders or ignore legitimate policy concerns. Nations do have governing responsibilities (Romans 13). But believers are called to evaluate issues through the lens of sacrificial love, not merely self-interest. The question shifts from “What’s best for me?” to “What reflects Christ?”
Christ did not secure His own comfort. He crossed the ultimate border — from heaven to earth — not because it was safe, but because love compelled Him.
Entitlement — When Blessings Become What is Due
There seems to be a common arrogance fueling hostility towards immigrants in this country. It is the idea that what we are blessed with is actually our due. That somehow Americans “deserve” the best, no matter where we go or what we do.
Thoughts like: “This is our country”, “These are our resources”, These opportunities belong to us alone”, “We belong here, you do not”, or “Americans are superior to other nationalities”.
But from a biblical perspective, nothing ultimately belongs to us. “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it” (Psalm 24:1).
Our citizenship, our prosperity, our security — these are gifts of grace, not entitlements we earned by moral superiority. Whether we are born into wealth and safety or into poverty in a war zone is not because of what we deserve or do not deserve.
In the Old Testament, God repeatedly reminded Israel that they were once strangers in Egypt (Exodus 22:21). Their identity as former sojourners was meant to cultivate humility and compassion. Forgetting their past would have bred arrogance. Remembering it nurtured mercy. The same remembrance should mark us as Americans. After all, it was not too long ago that our ancestors were arriving on US shores fleeing their former lives to start anew.
Not only as Americans, but as Christians, we are “sojourners and exiles” (1 Peter 2:11). Our ultimate citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20). If we hold our earthly blessings with open hands, we are less threatened by those who seek to share in opportunity.
An entitlement mindset hardens the heart. Pride keeps us arrogant. But the gospel dismantles the idea that we deserve what we have, with the realization that everything we possess flows from unmerited grace.
Obedience vs. Encouraging Good — Law Without Love
It is easy to reduce immigration to a legal category: documented or undocumented, legal or illegal. Laws matter. Order matters. Scripture affirms governing authorities (Romans 13:1–7) and obedience to law (1 Peter 2:13-14).
However, as Christians, there is a difference between caring about obedience and caring about people. Jesus confronted the Pharisees for their obsession with rule-keeping while neglecting “the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness” (Matthew 23:23).
A culture that cares more about punishing wrongdoing than encouraging righteousness reveals something about its heart. When immigration discussions are dominated by “They broke the law” without equal concern for the exploitation, poverty, violence, or desperation that often drives migration, we risk sounding more like prosecutors than shepherds.
Biblical justice is never divorced from mercy. Micah 6:8 calls us to “do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly.” Justice without mercy becomes cruelty. Mercy without justice becomes chaos. The Christian posture holds both in tension.
Even if we advocate for secure borders or legal reform, our tone should communicate that we care about human flourishing — not merely compliance. Along with this, we should take responsibility for the heavy hand our government has played in the destabilization of several foreign countries where immigration has risen (including Haiti).
Imago Dei Includes All People
Regardless of our policy preferences, every immigrant — documented or undocumented — bears the image of God (Imago Dei)(Genesis 1:27). That truth alone establishes inherent dignity and worth that cannot be stripped by legal status, nationality, or economic contribution.
Language matters. When people are reduced to labels, caricatures, or statistics, we obscure the imago Dei. Terms that imply infestation, criminal identity as essence, or cultural inferiority contradict the biblical claim that every human life reflects God’s image.
Jesus consistently moved toward those society marginalized — Samaritans, tax collectors, lepers, outcasts, sinners, and foreigners. He did not erase truth, or overlook their sin, but He never denied dignity. He never grouped people together but sought out each person as a unique individual to love.
We may disagree strongly on policy solutions. True Christians can land in different places regarding border security, refugee quotas, or pathways to citizenship because despite the Bible teaching us to love our neighbors and to uphold law, there is no play by play rulebook for how to do so.
However, if our rhetoric erases humanity, we have already departed from Christlike witness and have no business claiming to be a follower of Christ. When we have no compassion for the sinners around us (or humility as sinners ourselves) how can we pretend to love a compassionate God (“if you love me you will keep My commands”).
The watching world should see in us a people who speak with conviction and compassion — who refuse to trade dignity for political victory. We will never lead the lost to Christ by calling them “illegals”. We will never please God by idolizing a political party or overlooking the glaring immorality of a leader.
Christian Obligation
It’s important for us to understand the difference between the obligations of the state and the obligations of individual Christians. Governments are granted authority by God to protect their citizens, guard their borders, and set up just immigration laws.
We, individual Christians, are not commanded to enforce law or righteousness. We are called to love our neighbors, love the stranger in our midst, and welcome those whom God brings into our communities. Confusing these two will confuse the immigration conversation.
Immigration is complex. It involves economics, national security, work rights, family reunification, compassion, law, and global instability. Simplistic answers will not suffice. But the church’s calling is not to mirror the outrage of the culture. Not to get angry over intrusion or inconvenience. It is to reflect Christ.
Whatever policies we advocate, our posture must proclaim something deeper than national allegiance. It must proclaim the kingdom of God — a kingdom where strangers become family, grace triumphs over entitlement, and every human being carries eternal worth.
Our Christian witness may not settle every political debate. But it will reveal whose kingdom we ultimately serve. As people who have been given so much, we are required to steward our blessings well.
Let us not fall into the same sin patterns as the people of Sodom who were destroyed for being arrogant, stingy, careless, and living a life of apathetic ease who did not see those in need around them. (Ezekiel 16:49) (NASB 1995)
Taking Steps to Break Down Dividing Walls Between Us and Immigrants:
1. Learn more about the challenges immigrants face and the contributions they make to society, in order to vote in good conscience on immigration policy
It’s important to understand the whole story and the implications of each law. Listening to the skewed headlines put out by a political party trying to push their agenda will not suffice. To see the whole picture of immigrant life in our society you will actually have to get to know some immigrants. Do some digging. Visit immigrant families. Look into the immigration process and learn about current laws around immigration.
2. Build Real Intercultural Relationships
Walls begin to fall when relationships begin to form. It is easy to debate immigration as an issue; it is much harder to dismiss a neighbor you know by name. Share a meal. Learn someone’s story. Visit a church service in another language. Regardless of whether or not you agree with the current immigration process it’s important to note the great physical and mental toll legal immigrants face in our culture which often views and treats them negatively because of those who have immigrated here illegally. Be a friend.
3. Examine Your Language
Pay attention to how you speak about immigrants — especially when they are not present. Do your words reflect frustration alone, or dignity and care? Every person bears the image of God, so let’s refuse to use dehumanizing language. It is not political correctness; it is theological consistency. Our speech should reflect our belief in the imago Dei. We are called to speak graciously and with love to those around us (Titus 3:2, Colossians 4:6, Ephesians 4:29, Psalm 141:3).
4. Listen Before You Argue
Many immigrants carry stories of hardship, displacement, courage, perseverance, and faith. Listening does not mean abandoning convictions; it means honoring experience. James 1:19 calls believers to be “quick to hear, slow to speak.” When we listen first, we replace caricatures with compassion. Understanding can dismantle judgmental thoughts. Instead of becoming enraged over headlines that may or may not hold truth, let’s go to the source and listen to those who have experienced immigration firsthand before forming an opinion or arguing a point.
5. Pray for a Kingdom Perspective
Our allegiance to Christ must surpasses our cultural and national identity. Pray that God would align your heart with His — that fear would give way to faith, and defensiveness to generosity. Remember that our ultimate citizenship is not earthly but eternal (Philippians 3:20). When we live as citizens of heaven first, we become peacemakers on earth. Breaking down dividing walls does not require uniform policy agreement. It requires Christlike posture — humility, courage, and love that moves us toward compassion, and not away from it.
6. Stand with the mistreated
Psalm 82:3-4 calls us to not just sympathize with the marginalized, poor, widow, or mistreated, but to act. To defend. to rescue. To uphold. To deliver. This includes legal immigrants who are in the United States lawfully and have followed the correct process, but are still being slandered and hated without reason. If we can overlook those in our circles speaking negatively about the very people who we are all benefiting from without defending them, then we fail to follow these Biblical instructions.
Our Responsibly to Christ and Country
We have a responsibility to vote for policies that uphold ethical and just law. We should advocate for what is right. Including protecting our boarders, taking actions to eliminate human and drug trafficking in our ports, and fairly processing visa cases in a timely manner.
Does loving the foreigner mean freely allowing the breaking of law? Of course not! However, as Christians, we have to separate our attitude toward the act of entering the country illegally from our attitude toward illegal immigrants themselves.
Illegal immigrants are individuals who are created in the image and likeness of God, and for whom Jesus died. The first obligation of a Christian is to express Christlikeness in all our thoughts, words, and deeds (Romans 8:29). There is no room for hatred toward illegal immigrants who seek work, refuge from danger and persecution, or a better life for themselves and their families.
Christian compassion must be shown toward those who would risk their lives in a dangerous attempt to cross a border. Acts of hatred or violence toward illegal immigrants are never to be tolerated by those who name the name of Christ. Not to say that laws and deportations should not be enforced, compassion and kindness can still be shown in the midst of law enforcement.
So How Should a Christian Respond to Immigrants?
The same way we respond to anyone else—love and compassion.
The Bible is filled with instructions to demonstrate care for the poor, destitute, and distressed (Exodus 22:21, Matthew 25:31–45, Galatians 2:10, James 1:27, 2:15–16). While we should never do anything to promote, enable, or excuse illegal immigration; we should do everything we possibly can to demonstrate the love of Christ to the illegal immigrants themselves.
And when it comes to legal immigrants our every action should be of love and welcoming. Taking up our call to reach the nations with the gospel, while the nations are coming to us. Our conversation on the topic of immigration should always be seasoned with love and compassion.
The harmful stereotyping of all immigrants as “Illegals” and “criminals” must not be found in our churches and Christian communities. Otherwise we are not only no better than the lawbreakers we complain about, but worse, taking on the name of Christ in vain, when we do not follow His teachings to demonstrate love to the world.
Let us stand for what is right, back just laws, and choose to show love to the people these laws affect, both migrant and native born. May our actions and words reflect a God who loves all nations and people. May our allegiances be to the king of all kings and our sights be set on our Heavenly home. - AMEN