There is no ‘Christian case’ for open borders
Despite what many in the woke media like to claim, Jesus Christ wasn’t an open-borders socialist. And despite what Representative Tony Gonzales likes to claim, there’s nothing “unchristian” or “anti-immigrant” about securing the border and closing off the gaping asylum loopholes that undermine the social fabric of our nation.
In case you missed it, the Nikki Haley-appointed “Border King” recently fired off a tweet that managed to misrepresent Christianity and his fellow Texas Congressman Chip Roy’s border security bill at the same time. Gonzales said, “Bring unchristian anti-immigrant bills to the floor and I am a NO on the debt ceiling.”
What is Gonzales talking about? The “unchristian” and “anti-immigrant” bill in his subtweet sights is The Border Safety and Security Act, sponsored by Roy. Is this bill really that bad? Did the Devil himself help draft it? Far from it.
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Upon introduction, Roy explained that the legislation “is necessary to end President Biden’s border crisis” and “would force the administration to control the flow of illegal migration at our southern border and ensure U.S. immigration laws are enforced.” Who could oppose that? Open border advocates, sure. But not conservatives or Christians. Definitely not Texans.
According to Roy, the bill accomplishes this in two major ways. First, the legislation would “provide the Secretary of DHS with authority to turn away migrants who do not have valid entry documents.” Second, it would “require the Secretary to use this ‘turn away’ authority when an illegal immigrant cannot be detained through the pendency of an asylum claim.”
Any Republican can talk a big game on securing the Southern border. It doesn’t cost anything to chant, “Build the wall!” But if the government doesn't close the asylum loopholes that cartels and traffickers exploit daily, other measures will be severely undermined.
In 2013, the House Judiciary Committee raised the alarm on this very point, noting that “Mexican drug cartel members are abusing the U.S. asylum system to bypass regular immigration checks and get into the country, where some are setting up smuggling operations and others engage in the same violent feuds that caused them to flee Mexico in the first place.”
Roy rightly argues that “we cannot allow laws meant to serve the oppressed to create even more oppression in the false name of compassion.” But on the other side of this debate, Gonzales uses “compassionate sounding” language as a smokescreen for his political posturing on the debt ceiling. Not only does Gonzales have the wrong position on asylum reform, but he doubles down on it by insisting he won’t do the right thing on the debt ceiling (support conservative demands) unless he gets to do the wrong thing on the border — all while using those suffering under the boot of the cartels as a prop.
It’s amazing how many bad points Gonzales packed into his 16-word tweet. The “Border King” hath spoken. But what does the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, have to say about all this?
The Bible unapologetically upholds the concept of sovereign nations. This is seen in various books in the Old Testament, including Numbers, Joshua, and Judges. Of note is Numbers 20, when the Israelites attempt to pass through Edom. First, the Israelites request passage, they do not demand it, nor do they cross illegally (Num. 20:17). Edom denied their request (Num. 20:18-20), and Israel complied with their denial and “turned away” (Num. 20:21). The Israelites did not presume they had a moral claim on the land simply because they showed up at their borders.
Open border advocates like to point to Abraham as an example of a prominent “immigrant” figure in the Bible. But when Abraham was in a foreign land, what did he do? He respected the customs of the land in which he was a guest. This is evident in Genesis 23 when Abraham buys a burial lot for Sarah. He stands before the rulers of that area and says, “I am a foreigner and stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead” (Gen. 23:4).
In the New Testament, the political reality of sovereign nations is again seen clearly in Acts 17:26: “From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands.” Now, some “woke Christians” try to weaponize ideas like “Jesus was a refugee” (he wasn’t by modern standards) and the command to “welcome the stranger” (which, of course, doesn’t include human traffickers). But in both cases, they rip those verses out of context and twist them beyond recognition in service of their open-borders’ agenda.
In fact, the Bible makes it crystal clear that governments should prioritize defending their citizens from harm (Romans 13:1-7). Securing the border and enforcing our asylum laws to protect American sovereignty and security isn’t “anti-immigrant” — it’s pro-citizen. Even better, it’s the true Christian approach, and the compassionate one, too.
Don’t forget: The two greatest commandments are to 1. love God and 2. love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). Do you think that our citizen-neighbors in border states feel very loved while the cartels control the borders, deadly fentanyl flows freely, and human traffickers exploit asylum loopholes to bring sex slaves into the U.S.? Of course not. Such policies are not loving to Americans nor to immigrants, illegal or legal. Refusing to fix asylum loopholes isn’t loving; it’s being a bad neighbor.
Both the Bible and common sense show that, when it comes to “Christian immigration policy,” Roy gets it right, and Gonzales gets it dead wrong. Not a great start to his rule as the Border King. But I have no doubt that his Christian brother Chip Roy would welcome Gonzales’ repentance with open arms, especially if it comes with his support for The Border Safety and Security Act.
Now, that would be the Christian thing to do.
Originally published at Daily Caller.
William Wolfe is a visiting fellow with the Center for Renewing America. He served as a senior official in the Trump administration, both as a deputy assistant secretary of defense at the Pentagon and a director of legislative affairs at the State Department. Prior to his service in the administration, Wolfe worked for Heritage Action for America, and as a congressional staffer for three different members of Congress, including the former Rep. Dave Brat. He has a B.A. in history from Covenant College, and is finishing his Masters of Divinity at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Follow William on Twitter at @William_E_Wolfe
