I readily concur, though, with Robert’s last point, reflecting on a biblical theme:  immigration is used as one of the central metaphors for the Christian life. “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20) and on this earth we are (depending on the English translation), aliens, strangers, exiles, and sojourners (Hebrews 11:13, 1 Peter 2:11).

For those of us who are followers of Christ, our primary identity ought not to be as Americans, nor as Republicans or Democrats, nor as “citizens of this world”—but in Christ. All other allegiances should be secondary, without any that could even come near to rivaling our primary identity.

The point I have been trying to make in these essays is that immigration law, once adopted, ought to be enforced. Ultimately, the most effective means of enforcing rules excluding individuals is to exclude those individuals. That’s what immigration rules do. There may be good reasons to change the rules (and Congress has the constitutional power to make those changes). But unless the rules are changed in accord with the rule of law, the rule of law itself is threatened by our collective failure to abide by immigration rules we’ve adopted. And then, as history reveals, everyone loses.  

My main concern with Matthew’s argument is that his use of the Bible detracts from one of the most important themes of all of scripture. The gospel message powerfully unites all people. Christ died for all, and all who believe in Him are united in His church. The church transcends national borders. And we who believe are called to life in a new Kingdom.

In the words of the Apostle Peter, “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” (I Peter 2:10-11).  

As Christians, we are called to more than welcoming strangers, sojourners, and exiles. We are called to live as exiles in the world.

Reading through Robert’s initial post on the topic, there was little I would actually disagree with and much with which I can readily agree. What I was left wanting, though—and might find with the next post—was more specificity: we agree that immigration law and policy are extremely complex and not served well by simplistic rhetoric. We can both acknowledge that policy responses to the challenges of U.S. immigration will be imperfect and almost certainly have unintended consequences. We can also agree that the questions and terminology themselves are limited, debating what is meant by a “just” policy or practice. But questions of immigration policy are also far more than theoretical: they directly impact millions of people, and my conviction is that my faith compels me to do all within my power to grapple with the complexity and pursue more just policies on behalf of these neighbors whom I’m called to love, even while acknowledging that no changes to U.S. law will result in a perfect (or perfectly just) reality.

As an initial matter, then, I want to make clear my understanding that the point of this conversations is to move beyond rhetoric in the immigration conversation. Progress in this conversation calls on us to engage reason, and by reasoning together about the questions we’ve been asked to discuss we just may make discoveries leading us to greater understanding. Along with Matthew, I seek to gain more knowledge in this conversation. As we share our thoughts, informed by the knowledge we have already acquired, in pursuit of greater understanding of issues pertaining to immigration law and policy the conversation may lead us to discovery. Ultimately we seek together to discover something true. Discovery thereby produces knowledge, and knowledge is a crucial part of wisdom. In the words of Proverbs, “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.” (Prov. 18:15 ESV).

To be clear, the Scriptures do not prescribe a U.S. immigration policy, nor do I believe that the laws God established for Israel in the Pentateuch should be simply transferred over to U.S. law. The Bible’s many descriptions of and teachings regarding the treatment of immigrants, though, reveal a great deal about the unchanging character of God and of how he defines justice, including, specifically, for the immigrant.