What would the contours and outline of comprehensive immigration legislation based on these biblical principles look like? The Bible tells us God has ordained the civil powers (the government) to punish lawbreakers and to reward those who obey the law (Romans 13:1-7). Unfortunately, the U.S. government has not respected its own immigration laws enough to enforce them consistently for more than two decades (since President Reagan’s amnesty of illegal aliens in 1986). The government has not controlled the borders. The reality has been that too often, those who desire to enter our country illegally have encountered two apparently contradictory signs at our border: one saying “No Trespassing” and the other saying “Help Wanted.”
Any immigration reform that will generate sufficient public support to pass Congress must begin with securing the border first, then deal in a constructive and compassionate way with the 12 million undocumented workers already in the United States.
The failure of the 2006 effort shows reform must be done sequentially, not simultaneously. The people do not trust the government to commit the resources necessary to secure the border. The government will have to demonstrate its commitment by securing the border first.
[blockquote] for those who are willing to embrace the American dream and the ideals that both inspired that dream and define it[/blockquote]
This quote is the key issue. How do we define the American dream these days. Is it a cradle to grave security granted by an all powerful state, or is it closer to the rugged individualism of yesteryear? To put it more bluntly, are we willing to see the effects of poor choices by people on the evening news, even when it results in physical suffering?
I wish the Republicans would call the Democrats bluff and immediately call for implementation of a rigidly controlled guest worker program. Everybody here has to either be a registered guest worker or a citizen to stay. If most illegals really just want a “better life,” then it should be no problem for them to register and then work and pay taxes. If they don’t have a job within six months or commit a serious crime, they, and their family, are quickly deported, no questions asked, and no “anchor babies” to keep them here. BTW, if they work and pay taxes, they should qualify for unemployment benefits, but no endless welfare payments. If there’s no job by the time the unemployment benefits expire – you’re deported.
Once we do this and secure the borders, then we can talk about the citizenship process, all of which should be conducted in English only.
For Christians, how we relate to immigrants is an issue of faith not just a pragmatic political problem. I prefer Richard Land’s overall approach.
As the very proud son of a naturalized parent, I find it more than reasonable, even Christian, that people who are coming for economic reasons only extend us the courtesy of complying with our laws. And could we please not use the term “undocumented worker?” If I go to work and forget my company ID, I am undocumented. (It happened once. They generated a temporary one for me, along with the scolding.) If I am here illegally, then I am an illegal. Period.
For a Biblical understanding of this issue, I HIGHLY recommend The Immigration Crisis: Immigrants, Aliens, and the Bible By James Karl Hoffmeier. He is a subject matter expert and an immigrant himself (which I believe gives him a unique qualification to comment on the issue) as well as being an excellent Biblical scholar.
He documents the significant Biblical distinction between legal immigrants (the [i]ger[/i]) and illegal immigrants (the [i]nekhar and zar[/i]). This distinction is almost always lost in most discussions about illegal immigration that try to justify amnesty using Biblical proof texts.
You can get the gist of the book from this Christianity Today article:
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2010/march/9.54.html
Or you can take a look on Google Books:
http://books.google.com/books?id=F8pERDlTYWgC&printsec=frontcover&dq=the+immigration+crisis+james+Hoffmeier&source=bl&ots=2XFVsjFhMh&sig=R4WgaRJjC16y5yXLzgMyfhH-zwo&hl=en&ei=_jlpTJegCsGblgfehJ3jDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBIQ6AEwAA
For the American people, securing the border was the first order issue in 2006 and still is. Why Congress and the Prez don’t understand this is beyond me, except for political reasons – imagine that!
Over here in the UK we are an island and even we cannot control our borders (and with the previous government the will was lacking). May I raise – as a kind of despairing question – a pragmatic issue: Is it practically possible to control our borders these days given the reality of international travel? I bet when you readers come across the word ‘border’ you think of Mexico. But think also of JFK – or here in London, of Heathrow. Many many millions of people enter our countries each year to study or for vacation. Significant numbers will stay. In an average year around 55 million passengers pass through Heathrow alone. Just think of that number. Think of the army of immigration officials it would require really and thoroughly to scrutinise them. Think of the vast back-up of detention. Think, too, of the horribly difficult task of deporting. Which of you readers could go into a home, tell the family to pack up what they can, and get ready to go? That they would be torn away from schools, networks, even jobs? I certainly could not do it. I find myself wondering whether it would be easier simply to get used to being a more multi-cultural nation. At least in the US you can promote integration, and you have a vigorous tradition of evangelism. In the UK the first of these would be regarded as racism, the second would be regarded as religious imperialism – and anyway with so many lapsed we are hardly in a position to preach to newcomers.
Hi Terry Tee,
The US already is the most generous nation in the world when it comes to legal immigration. Of the top 10 countries accepting immigrants, the US accepts more than double the next 9 countries COMBINED.
I don’t think we need platitudes about being welcoming and multi-cultural.
Yes, I do think that we can and should enforce our borders with physical barriers and a standing military presence. Yes, I could and would help illegal immigrants to be deported back to their country of origin and I would do so knowing that I am reducing the labor pool, thus increasing wages and job opportunities for my fellow citizens. I would also be happy in the knowledge that I am honoring all the LEGAL immigrants that did things the right way because they wanted to be US Citizens…not just criminals getting whatever they can.
I note that about half a million Britains are emmigrating annually, while about the same number of foreigners are immigrating to England. How is that working out for you all? I also heard that sharia law is now in effect in many parts of the UK. Do you all print your official government documents in multiple languages now…or do you expect your immigrant population to learn English?
the border is huge and will never be completely secure. beyond that animal populations need to migrate and they don’t know care diddly squat about borders.
i’m not against a guest worker program as long as they return home when it’s over. but it’s ridiculous to shout about border security when employers blatantly hired illegals. start jailing some of them and handing out prohibitive fines and they will stop hiring. no jobs and the illegals will go back home, this has been proven by the latest recession.
#8
Securing our borders and prosecuting employers of illegal immigrants does not need to be an “either, or” solution. It should be a “both” solution. Yes, the border is large. Just because it will never be “completely secure” is no reason not to try to secure as much of it as it is possible to do.
As for your idea on the guest worker program…you do know that millions of your fellow citizens are facing their 99th week of unemployment and are losing or are about to lose their unemployment benefits. How about we give them a crack at the jobs that the “guest workers” are stealing before we start a new program for illegal immigrants? Construction, meat packing, autobody repair, etc. all used to be fairly good paying jobs in the US. When I was in highschool, many of us used to pick apples at local orchards for agricultural minimum wage. Lots of highschool kids had their first job working in agriculture. We were a cheap source of labor and it gave us good work experience. Americans were happy to do that work. Why not let’s give them first shot at those jobs?
A quick survey and comparison of public safety, individual economic opportunity, individual personal freedoms freely enjoyed, political freedom of choice, etc. north of the USA-Mexican border and south of that border says it all.
We are the country that we are becuse of our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution and the Bill of Rights and because we have embedded in our national consciousness the TRADITIONS OF RESPONSIBLE DEMOCRACY (sorry for the shouting but I do not assume that critical importance of these “traditons” is ‘obvious to all’ in our country today).
The repeated failures of democracy in the nations south of our border can be traced to the absence of similar embedded traditions.
A major problem with suddenly legalizing 20 million to 30 million illegal immigrants, as I see it, is that that there is little hope that they will be able to quickly assimilate our US traditons and be effective members of the existing US voting population that already possesses these traditions.
Instead, it seems more likely, that these illegals, literate or illiterate will cling to what is familiar to them. They will be easy prey for demagogic politicians, particularly those politicians that have “strong man” personas. They will continue to respond to their politicians in a highly emotional manner rather than in a thoughtful manner.
I would like to emphasize that this is not a matter of liteacy, per se. Just take a look at the history of Argentina during th 20th and 21st centuries. And it doesn’t change much as you examine the history of the other countries.
Political demagogery has raised its ugly head in US politics, but we have usually been able to bring the political situation back to balance. A huge influx of voters who are conditioned to political demagogery, however, could dangerously reinforce what has been a controllable political tendency. If these illegal immigrants are suddenly made voters then they may likely become a real danger to the continued existance of the USA as we know it.
Here’s the thing — many of these “poor little people who just want a better life for their famiies” don’t WANT to become Americans. Tens of thousands left on their own when our economy went bad. I taught the children of these folks near the Southern border. They refused to learn English and they would tell me that they are “puro Mexicano” and were only in the U.S. for work. And for benefits, of course.
Every border area has a thriving under-the-radar business of providing fake birth certificates and Social Security numbers. Identity theft is common in border states, too. One local woman had her identity stolen by an illegal immigrant from Honduras, who ran up a tax debt to the IRS of about $40,000. They can’t find the Honduran woman so they’re making the victim pay. Are we supposed to just “tolerate” things like that?
In turn, these folks make it difficult for the legal immigrants who DO want to thrive in America as Americans. Their presence has driven down wages in construction, agriculture, automotive, landscaping, cleaning and other services. It’s gotten to the point where it’s difficult to find legal small businesses providing these services. What used to be a mainstay of work and mom-and-pop business ownership is work now done by illegal “free-lancers” or large companies that hire illegals.
Obama came down here to Texas to fund-raise about a week ago. Gov. Perry cordially met him at the airport to welcome him. He had requested a meeting with Obama over immigration and border security but Obama refused. So, Gov. Perry wrote a detailed letter to give to him and Obama refused to take it! One of his aides finally did.
Clearly, Obama doesn’t want to hear about it. You don’t see him or his precious family spending any time in American border cities, though. Gunfire and violence spill over onto the American side daily. Gov. Perry said that the people in our neglected border areas are referring to their towns as “almost America.” It’s absolutely shameful.
This is in part like the American/Mexican drug problem: There would be none if we made sure that Americans were not infinitely hungry for illegal drugs. The supple will never be controlled until the demand is controlled. We can control the illegal immigration issue buy coming down hard on companies that hire them. Start there. When there is no work for illegals, the word will get back and the river will dwindle rapidly to puddles. Larry
#9 i just think that it is a waste of money to do this in addition to hurting migrating populations of animals to put up a fence that won’t keep anyone out; reminds me of the bridge to nowhere.
yes, i also agree that americans should be given all those jobs you listed, except for farm jobs. your description of apple orchard picking is a nice one but i really don’t see american students sweating in a field picking lettuce under intense sun in the southwest. if we were in a depression perhaps…but farmers complain that if they don’t have cheap labour they will have to raise food prices and then you will have even more complaining from the general populace about that.
personally i think all farming should be done in each country by local farmers who feed their local populations; kind of like it used to be back in the day. we would all be healthier for it, but reality is different.
#13 And cheap labor is precisely the problem. Will paying a reasonable wage to farm workers raise the price of food? Why of course. And so it should. It is about time Americans, who think cheap food is a constitutional right, begin to pay for what food SHOULD cost if farmers paid their workers a fair wage. Pay a fair wage and you will get college students picking because they need the money, just the way, up in the county here in Maine one used to get every sort of person picking up potatoes. And you still get them raking blueberries. Try paying a decent wage.
I’m a farmer and I know the mouth and complaints I get if I raise the price of a quart of a blueberries because MY costs go up and up.
Only the farmers are not permitted to past their cost increases alone.
Larry
Perhaps too if we did away with government subsidies that paid farmers NOT to grow certain crops, then the higher wages would be off-set with greater supply, thus keeping the costs low at the market.
i definitely agree with you larry morse, i myself don’t trust cheap food, especially meat. but what to do about the poor? they have to feed their families. it’s a quandry.
i don’t know libraryjim, if the reason that the gov’t is paying people not to till the soil are for overall environmental benefit, it should be not be considered imo. some issues are more complex than just the face value of the solution.