Christianity and Illegal Immigration

I am a student at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where I am pursuing a Master of Divinity in Christian Worldview and Apologetics. Part of my general studies requisites includes "Survey of Christian Ethics" with Dr. Russell Moore. It has been a wonderful class; convicting and challenging. For our final, he posted an ethical dilemma on his website. You must read it to make sense of my post.

Introduction 

Being Christian in a secular culture is not easy. Deciding between action and inaction in politics governed by two parties, neither of which all together represents the Christian faith very well makes it even more difficult. Immigration is not just a political issue though. There is an aspect of both legal and illegal immigration that the church cannot ignore. Action is necessary and it better be biblical.

Given the ethical dilemma between advising Pablo to either remain in the U.S. as an illegal immigrant or return as an honest Christian is not an easy decision. On one hand, Pablo will live as an outlaw to the U.S. government and disobedient to the Romans 13:1 command. On the other hand, Pablo would be abandoning his wife and kids, his marriage and fatherhood, and the 1 Timothy 5:8 command to manage his household if he left, so staying in the U.S. then seems preferable. So which is it? Does the issue come down to a lesser of two evils, or is there one correct answer in which Pablo is not sinning against God or his family?

Advice to Pablo 

Simply put, Pablo must remain in the U.S. as an illegal immigrant, providing for his family, managing his household, and seeking daily to advance the Kingdom of God. However, there are catches. If at all possible, Pablo must seek to be obedient to the law whilst not abandoning his family. This means if it is possible to return to El Salvador with the entire family, he must do so, but he should also be seeking legal paths for naturalization during his stay in the U.S. There may come a day when either a medical emergency or deportation may occur, so Pablo must also plan for this in order to provide for his family to the best of his ability.

To begin, Pablo, myself, and the church must be in prayer for the situation. We need clarity on current and future actions on how to protect the family and also attempting to obey the governing authorities in respect to Romans 13:1. Pablo must understand being a Christian means being obedient and his understanding is not just through logic and words, but also through action in which he longs to be obedient to governing authorities so long as they are not requiring him to abandon his faith or sin against God. Through meditating on the Word of God and prayer, Pablo can accomplish this.

How does Pablo square this away with Romans 13:1? There is an exception, as John MacArthur points out in his Bible Commentary. He states, “Scripture makes one exception to this command: when obedience to civil authority would require disobedience to God’s Word (Ex. 1:17; Dan. 3:16-18; 6:7-10; and Acts 4:19),” (MacArthur 1548). God is sovereign and places the ruling authorities into power. There is no event that takes place that has not been allowed or ordained by God. However, governments are run by man, man is sinful, and therefore there will be times when obedience to governing authorities is neither required nor the right thing to do.

In essence, if being obedient to immigration laws in the U.S. would require Pablo to return to El Salvador and abandon his marriage and family, then the command to manage one’s household in 1 Timothy 5:8 trumps civil law. It must be noted that immigration laws themselves are not counter-Scriptural. The requirement of being a legal citizen to permanently reside in the U.S. does not cause one to sin, but rather, it is Pablo’s unique case that the law would place Pablo in sin. In order for Pablo to exercise Ephesians 5 and 6 in his life he ought to physically be with his family if at all possible. How could he fully love his wife at such a distance or “raise [his] children in the discipline of the Lord?” In their Guide to Biblical Manhood, Randy Stinson and Dan Dumas write, “If you are married, you are responsible for your wife and children. You will answer for their spiritual condition,” (Stinson and Dumas 10). Pablo is to seek biblical manhood through managing his household. It would be difficult for him to do so in El Salvador.

Pablo’s reasoning for fleeing El Salvador was primarily due to inhumane working conditions due to both physical and sexual abuse. Returning to El Salvador would likely place him in the same work conditions, but it could potentially place him in the face of temptation, mainly sexual immorality. This sexual immorality is not from the sexual abuse, but his temptation to resolve his sexual urges either through pornography or an affair with another woman. Pablo’s level of accountability would likely be diminished. Part of his planning for the worst case scenario, being deported back to El Salvador without his family, requires him to prepare for sexual temptation. Through his salvation, Pablo has accepted a call from God to be holy as he is holy (1 Pet. 1:16). This is not a call that is only applicable to one part of Pablo’s life, but all of it. That means that in 1 Peter 2:11, when Peter writes, “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul,” Pablo cannot give into the flesh if he is in El Salvador without his wife. Peter goes on to explain the urgency and necessity of remaining pure, turning away from sin and he continues to explain the reward of doing so. Because obedience to God is impossible without the work of the Holy Spirit within us and certainly not easy in a fallen world, it is necessary for Pablo to find joy in his sufferings if deported. Christ suffered for us on the cross and he did so after living a sinless life. If Pablo is sent back, he must do all in his will to protect against sin, particularly sexual immorality. He can take comfort in knowing he will be rewarded for his suffering for doing good because he will be blessed (1 Pet. 3:13-17). While Pablo, or any other human, could not perfectly reflect Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, going through hardships such as this are small ways in which we can exemplify Christ’s sacrificial love to the world in our own lives.

Living a righteous life in accordance with God’s commands found in Scripture is not just necessary if he must return to El Salvador, but also if he remains. During Pablo’s stay in the U.S., it must be noted that his membership with the church will be revoked if he does not remain faithful to God and family. In this case it would be necessary to revoke his membership lovingly, but also with the idea of discipleship and counseling during this process in hopes of reuniting Pablo with his church family. Further, it should be Pablo’s goal to seek honest employment.

His employment with Tyler can only be acceptable if he remains faithful and committed, not giving reason to believe his conversion and baptism were simply dishonest means to gaining acceptance into the church to make his stay easier. Lastly, it must also be an ongoing effort for Pablo to seek legal citizenship in order to naturalize in accordance with the laws of the U.S. For Pablo, remaining in the U.S. as an illegal immigrant because of his biblical obligation to his family is not a licensure to remain here illegally without attempt to naturalize. This will not only be an effort on his part, but also for the entire congregation and church staff. Regarding his employment, if it is not possible for Tyler to keep Pablo employed in good conscience then Pablo must be open about his citizenship status whenever asked by future potential employers. This means he needs to get rid of his illegally obtained social security number. He cannot be a repentant Christian, baptized into the church, and continue deceiving and lying about his citizenship status.

Confession of Christ as Savior requires one to be repentant and a number of passages in Scripture make this point clear (Luke 13:3; Matt. 3:2; 4:17; Mark 6:12; Acts 2:38, and so on). Repentance for Pablo means that he realizes his status as an illegal immigrant requires honesty and openness about it, willingness to take legal responsibility for it, and earnest in trying to become a legal citizen. With that said, baptism is a response one makes when he comes to faith in Christ. Because Pablo and his wife have heard the gospel, have been convicted of their sin, and are ready to confess Christ as Lord, I have an obligation to see them baptized so long as it does not cause me to sin against my conscience regarding Pablo’s immigration status. 

Advice to Tyler

Tyler, knowing the legal status of his employees, is obligated by U.S. law, and thus Scripture, to discontinue his practice in employing them. Typically illegal immigrants are underpaid in accordance with state wage laws and I expect Tyler’s case to be no different. Even if Tyler pays minimum wage and up, he is knowingly breaking U.S. law and therefore sinning against God based on Romans 13:1. In Pablo’s case, I would permit Tyler to continue employing him so long as he paid a fair wage and only did so in effort to help Pablo support his family while seeking legal immigration status. In this case, he is only helping a fellow believer to remain faithful to God and family. In all other cases that are not identical to this one, his migrant workers cannot continue to be employed. If Tyler is not able to keep his business open through honest and legitimate means, he is not scripturally justified in operating the business. Ultimately, this would become a disciplinary issue left up to the church if Tyler continues to operate his business without being faithful to the civil law and laws of Scripture. 

According to Wayne Grudem in his Politics According to the Bible, there are two kinds of harm that can occur when employers hire undocumented aliens. He states, “First, they can exploit them, treat them unfairly, and pay them inadequately because they are quite confident that illegal immigrants will not appeal to any legal authority to correct any injustice done to them,” (Grudem 478). Tyler must protect himself against these kinds of temptations that he will face by employing others like Pablo. The Christian’s goal in work ethic is not to make money, but to obey God’s command to work the land (Gen. 2:15).

Grudem goes on to say, “The second harm is when illegal immigrants find jobs in the U.S., this provides an incentive for other illegal immigrants to try to enter, thinking they too will find illegal immigrants to try to enter, thinking they too will find jobs,” (Grudem 478). Because illegal immigration is such a problem in the U.S., specifically within the southern states, Tyler cannot be a part of this. Further, if Tyler knows of any of his illegal employees who may be criminals, he is also obligated to report them to the appropriate authorities. Otherwise, he is willingly and knowingly providing sanctuary to those who could potentially be a threat to the communities they live in and also Tyler and his family. 

Advice to the Congregation

The Church generally and our church specifically is not to “wrong a sojourner” (Ex. 22:21). Rather, we should “love the sojourner” (Deut. 10:19). Immigrants, whether legal or not, are made in the image of God and we are to respect human life. We should treat the poor “sojourner” as we would the rich and we should treat them both as we would treat natural citizens of the U.S. What this means is that we do not harass them, we are not racist towards them, and we do not look down upon them. In a USA Today discussing immigration as an issue facing the church, Matthew Soerens is quoted saying, "I think the rule of law is important and I don't think that we should pretend that the law wasn't broken. But we don't look at people and say, 'These are citizens and these are aliens.' We say, 'These are all people made in God's image.' That's everyone," (Zoll). Think of how hypocritical we would be to do so! We send missionaries to foreign countries and many to those countries whose people are not well accepted in the U.S., namely the Middle East and Hispanics. In the case of Pablo, as a believer, we should welcome him with open arms as such. 

As a church we ought to feel an outright obligation to assist Pablo and his family. Pablo has come to Christ and needs a church family to care for him. We are to protect him, his wife, and kids. We can begin with prayer, counseling, and encouragement. Being prolife does not end at birth, it continues until one dies a natural death when God calls him or her home. In Pablo’s case, we would be doing a great disfavor to him by sending him back to El Salvador to face cruel work conditions and likely sexual abuse. Not only that, but we would preventing him from being able to care for his family directly, managing his household as Scripture demands, and the very essential aspect of marriage which is reproduction. Part of being prolife is also being pro-human dignity, standing up to protect the rights of all human beings. Pablo’s past work experience which drove him to the U.S. promises to be no better than it was when he left.

However, the goal is not to provide sanctuary for illegal immigrants. The goal is to raise Godly men and women in the faith which includes those immigrants who are legal and illegal. In Pablo’s case, the desired long-term goal is not to hide him from the government, but to assist him in obtaining legal status. Wayne Grudem states, “In many cases it may be possible for churches to help illegal immigrants find an immigration lawyer who can help them work out a process to be able to stay in the U.S. legal,” (Grudem 481). This is not a burden for the church to take up. It is our opportunity to serve the Hispanic community. This can be a vital part of the mission here. The Great Commission demands us to spread the Gospel to every people group and through sharing the Gospel with immigrants to the U.S. we can do just this in our own backyards. Grudem goes on to state, “But we must be honest and admit that there are times when this will not be possible and, in order to obey the law, illegal immigrants will have to leave and apply for entry into the U.S. on the same basis as everyone else, through proper legal channels,” (Grudem 481).

Regarding Tyler’s situation, we must be here for him and his family. Their business has been dependent upon immigrant labor for some time and he claims it is impossible to utilize American citizens for those jobs. There are two aspects of this situation. First, we must be ready to assist Tyler and his family by meeting their needs as much as we possibly can. If this means a group of members are volunteering time to help Tyler until he can find employees with legal work status, then so be it. But, secondly there is a chance that Tyler’s business will fail. As Grudem points out on this issue, “this is simply a result of natural economic forces bringing about some shift in world markets,” (Grudem 483).

Conclusion 

As a body of believers and members of the universal Church, we must be prepared to take up our crosses daily. We must also be prepared to serve with joyful hearts in the midst of trials and tribulations. It is our hope that Pablo is able to, in the long run, obtain legal status to live and work in the U.S. This is the best case scenario for himself and his family. However, in the case of Pablo’s deportation, we must be prepared to take his wife and kids under our care, providing for their needs. In this case, we will work with Pablo to apply for citizenship so he can return, but it may take up to twenty years. This is much more a burden for his natural family than it for his church family and we are here to serve them. If Pablo happens to be sent back, we will do our best to keep in touch, discipling him, and equipping him to share the Gospel while he is in El Salvador.

Further, Tyler is not alone. He is one of many who are employing illegal workers here in the U.S. We must help him come to peace with discontinuing this practice, helping him transition from illegal to legal workers. Romans 13:1 presents a clear case for his situation.

Through all of this, we are to protect life and promote Christ. We have been presented with an amazing ministry opportunity and through this we ought to be compelled to assist others with migrating to America. We can join with those such as Matthew Soerens who are working with migrant workers to obtain legal status while also advocating immigration reform.

Bibliography 

MacArthur, John. John MacArthur’s Bible Commentary. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2005. 2040pp.

Stinson, Randy and Dumas, Dan. A Guide to Biblical Manhood. Louisville: SBTS Press, 2011. 109pp.

Grudem, Wayne. Politics According to the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010. 619 pp.

Zoll, Rachel. Evangelical Activist: Immigration is a Christian issue. USA Today 17 Aug. 2010. 28 Nov. 2011. < http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-08-17-evangelical-immigration_N.htm>