Immigration faith dilema? I don't see it.

"For the most part, these are perceptions masquerading as conclusions, which is not to say that they should be lightly dismissed."

This statement came from a December LA Times article about immigration. And while the perceptions and masquerading conclusions across the country rage on about what U.S. immigration and border security policy should be, I was honestly shocked to read the latest CT magazine article "A Delicate Hospitality", which seems to have very little to do with the challenges of Christian hospitality towards immigrants and more to do with the compromising assumption about legality and holiness.

I loved the quote from Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, speaking about the command from Leviticus 19:34 (among others) about caring for foreigners in the same manner as citizens:

"We have a moral, biblical, God-given obligation to take care of the dissenfranchised, the alienated, and the foreigners. How they got here is not our issue."

And while some may lash out/ fire back with "obey the law of the land," the weight of the scripture sides with the poor and the foreigners. Yet somehow how many in the American church have falsely assumed national soverienty and biblical ethics were the same, ie. not everything that is legal is holy - in fact many legal things are unholy; similarly, not everything that is illegal is sinful.

In the article, one pastor quoted, reveals this false relationship between legality and biblical holiness. He says that "churches should acknowledge the evil in harboring unauthorized immigrants..." He goes on to acknowledge the greater good of caring for immigrants, but the problem is in his first statement. As Rodriguez also says in the article:

"Is it a sin for a father to cross the Rio Grande because his family is impoverished? He's a hard-working, God-fearing individual; his family is impoverished, the government is corrupt, drug traffickers are mowing down individuals in his community, and for the sake of saving his children, they cross the Rio Grande."

Answer: NO. Period. End of story.

Migration is not a moral issue, unless you count the immorality of economic oppression, of militarization, of corruption, etc, that fuels migration. Migration isn't even primarily a legal issue, as people (or birds or animals, for that matter) don't migrate based on lawfulness. They migrate based on basic needs for survival, for food, for provision and opportunity. If I recall, there was no legality banner waved, no national security trumpet blown when the first undocumented immigrants - including my family - in the 1600's in the name of opportunity and freedom.

And while national border security is very legitimate issue, I see no biblical grey area of dilemna for Christians ministering among undocumented immigrants. The "who is my neighbor" of immigration appears clear cut, not morally compromising.

3/21 UPDATE: I decided to send this post as a letter to the editor at Christianity Today. They sent me the following reply:

Hi Scott McLane,

I just wanted to thank you for your letter about our article, "A Delicate Hospitality." I definitely appreciate your perspective. You'll want to read an editorial scheduled for our May issue about the "theology" of immigration. If you have any thoughts after reading it, please feel free to send in another letter to the editor. This letter came in too late to be reprinted, but I'd be happy to consider printing another one.

Sincerely,
Madison Trammel
Associate Editor, Christianity Today

I'll look out for that article in the next issue and see where we go from there.