I’ve lived in a border state for most of my life, so I’ve heard much about legal and illegal immigration and the border. I’ve heard so much that I am confident that I could eloquently tell you the Republican position, the Democratic position, the President’s position, and the Governor’s position.

What I’ve rarely heard is anyone ask, “What does the BIBLE say about immigrants?” Christians who loudly proclaim that they get their beliefs directly from the Bible don’t know what it says. Preachers whose calling is to preach, teach, and explain the Bible proclaim either politically conservative or liberal positions—without any real understanding of what the Bible teaches.

“WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY” is supposed to be the key question for believers. So . . . what does it say?

The answer to that question may surprise you. In this blog, I primarily use the word “immigrant.” The NIV that I quote from uses the word “foreigner.”  “Alien” (in some translations) sounds too other-worldly to me—maybe I had too much Star Trek and Star Wars in my background. “Illegal” is a judicial term that applies to today’s world of green cards, passports, visas, and borders which did not exist in the same way in Bible times when people wandered more freely.

No matter what terms we use, we need to know what the Bible says, for wanderers, refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants have always made up a huge percentage of the world’s population. They still do.

Here are a few of the many verses in the Bible:

Exodus 22:21 says, “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”

Exodus 23:9 says, “Do not oppress a foreigner; you yourselves know how it feels to be foreigners, because you were foreigners in Egypt.”

Leviticus 19:33-34 says, “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.”

Numbers 15:15-16: ‘The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You and the foreigner shall be the same before the Lord: The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigner residing among you.”

Deuteronomy 10:18-19, speaking of God says, “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.”

Deuteronomy 24:17-18 says, “Do not deprive the foreigner or the fatherless of justice, or take the cloak of the widow as a pledge. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God redeemed you from there. That is why I command you to do this.”

Deuteronomy 27:19 says, “Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow. Then all the people shall say, ‘Amen!'”

The overall teaching from the Bible is clear and can be easily summarized:

We all are—or were—immigrants. We should be able to understand the heart of an immigrant, for we—or our ancestors—immigrated. The Jews are an example. Abraham immigrated from Ur to the Holy Land, moved to Egypt, and then back to the Holy Land. The Jews were later in captivity in Egypt and then wandered all over the Middle East. They were in Israel when the above verses were written, so God reminded them that they were once immigrants seeking a home. In New Testament times, Jews moved all over the known world and spoke many different languages.

All Americans of today are ancestors of immigrants. Native Americans emigrated from Asia and moved freely around the Americas. Most whites emigrated from Europe. Most blacks came—against their will—from Africa. Others emigrated from Asia and the Middle East. My family emigrated from England, Wales, Scotland, and Germany and lived at times in England, Scotland, India, Canada, and Japan. ALL OF US are immigrants. Remembering this, God says, gives us insight on how to treat immigrants.

We are to treat immigrants the same as citizens. The Bible is clear. Immigrants get the same rights, the same justice, and the same treatment as citizens. Numbers 15:15 says, “The community is to have the same rules for you and for the foreigner residing among you; this is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come.” One standard for citizens and another for non-citizens is not allowed. “This is a lasting ordinance” makes it clear that Moses wasn’t giving a temporary command. It is a permanent standard. In Biblical terms, every human being is made in God’s image. In legal terms, this means that laws, rights, and privileges apply equally to citizens and non-citizens.

Love and compassion are key. Leviticus says (19:34) specifically of immigrants, “Love them as yourself.” They are to be loved, fed, housed, and cared for regardless of their citizenship, their land of birth, their skin color, their faith, or their legal status. We are to love them as we love our own. Jesus quoted from that same chapter when He said in Matthew 22:37-39, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Jesus obviously believed Leviticus 19 to be a key part of His teaching.

Those who ignore God’s commands will be cursed. “Cursed” is a strong word, but that is what the Bible emphasized in Deuteronomy 27:19, “Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow. Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”  I love the last line of that statement. God said it, and He wanted His people to wholeheartedly agree with a hearty, “Amen!” The Bible puts immigrants in the same category as orphans and widows as people needing special attention and compassion. Nations that fail to treat them respectfully and compassionately forfeit God’s blessings.

An ugly hatred is brewing in America today. I’m not sure how it happened in a country that is exclusively made up of immigrants. Have we forgotten our history? I’m not sure how we lost our compassion or failed to understand why people come to America. Do we not know why our own families came? It used to be that we were proud of the way we treated immigrants. Do we remember the statement inscribed on a plaque on our Statue of Liberty? “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore, send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

That statement is from a poem written by Emma Lazarus, a Jewish woman who aided refugees who fled Eastern Europe and settled in New York. One of her ancestors ended up in New Amsterdam after fleeing the Inquisition in Portugal. She understood the forces and hatred that caused people to move—in desperation and often without legal permission—from one land to another.

From the time of Abraham on, God’s people have been immigrants. Jesus Himself emigrated as a child from Israel to Egypt. Later, He and His parents returned to Israel.  

We are called to love and care for immigrants. It is our nature as God’s people. We are not called to be conservative or liberal (I get tired of those labels!), but to be what Baptists used to proudly call themselves for our commitment to the Bible, People of the Book!

Issues, customs, and laws are different today than in Bible times, but love, compassion, respect, and equality must not change. If we want God to bless our land—and I most definitely do—then we cannot support any political stance that does not recognize and support the Bible’s teaching on immigration.

“Love your neighbor as yourself!”