True Bible-Based Immigration Reform

The Bible has a good bit to say about immigration. This should not be surprising since the land that gave birth to the Hebrew and Christian scriptures was a major international crossroads, and there was a significant nomadic population. What might be surprising is that a people who were extremely vulnerable, and surrounded by enemies obsessed with their destruction, established remarkably compassionate guidelines for dealing with “the alien” among them.

These Old Testament principles, and the teachings of Jesus about how we treated “the least of those among you,” were the basis for the following resolution that was passed by the United Church of Christ:

A CALL FOR A MORE HUMANE US IMMIGRATION POLICY;
END MIGRANT DEATHS; SUPPORT IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Jesus and the scriptures give us clear instruction on how we are to treat the foreigner and neighbors in need; and
WHEREAS, the Biblical heritage of the Judeo Christian tradition specifically identifies the “stranger” in our midst as deserving of our love and compassion; and
WHEREAS, we have been called by the one God to tear down all the borders we have built between us so that we may see each person as a child of God, so that we may learn to love and welcome all of God’s children as members of one family and one world; and
WHEREAS, our consciences are affronted by federal policies and actions that detain immigrants, that prosecute undocumented workers, that fracture families and prosecute those who would give them aid; and
WHEREAS, more than 3,000 men, women and children have died attempting to cross the US/Mexico border since the implementation of the blockade strategy of border enforcement and there is little evidence that this policy has been effective in slowing the tide of illegal immigration; and
WHEREAS, many of us are in local churches and communities where we are aware of migrant peoples, but largely unaware of their personal, communal, and national stories; and
WHEREAS, the United States is affected by the presence of new immigrants from all over the world, and
WHEREAS, although countries have the right to control their own borders, it is not an absolute right; the Church recognizes a basic God given right for shelter, food, clean water and other basic necessities; and
WHEREAS, the blockade strategy of border enforcement has created an underground market for the smuggling of human beings which exploits its vulnerable victims, and has encouraged an upsurge in vigilante activities, fosters an anti-immigrant atmosphere and represents the potential for violence; and
WHEREAS, current immigration policy forces upon migrant families potentially deadly choices which separate and dislocate them from one another, precluding free travel and mobility to return to their families; and
WHEREAS, migrant workers and their families enter the United States to live and work, and the current immigration policy makes that passage dangerous, illegal, disorderly, and inhumane, with very few of the basic rights afforded to all workers under international law; and
WHEREAS, approximately ten to twelve million undocumented workers and their families currently living in the United States are pressured to live covertly, without rights, and in vulnerable situations all over the United States; and
WHEREAS, the root causes of this migration lie in environmental, economic, and trade inequities between the United States, Mexico, and all of Latin America, policies which reduce tariffs and taxes that would support the poor in Mexico and Latin America; eliminate agricultural subsidies and low-interest loans for the poor in Mexico and Latin America while keeping those subsidies in the United States and in Canada; reduce social spending for health care, food stamps, and welfare reform in Mexico and Latin America; liberalize land ownership policies, thus limiting the ability of the poor in Mexico and Latin America to own or share in the land; deregulate environmental and labor laws in Mexico and Latin America; and limit the rights of Mexican and Latin American workers to protest or seek remedies for wrongs done to them; and
WHEREAS, the fragile desert environment has sustained severe damage as a result of migrant and responding enforcement patrols moving through remote desert regions; and
WHEREAS, General Synod XIII of the United Church of Christ (1981) adopted a
Pronouncement on Immigration calling upon all settings of the church to:

1. advocate for the rights of immigrants;
2. aid undocumented immigrants in attaining legal status;
3. aid immigrants in reunification with their families and in placement in areas of the country most favorable for their productive participation in society;
4. assist in meeting the social welfare needs of immigrants; and
5. be inclusive of immigrants in existing and new churches; and

WHEREAS, General Synod XXIV of the United Church of Christ adopted a resolution supporting Humane Borders, a faith-based group that offers assistance to those in need by maintaining water stations on and near the border and recognizing that there is more that can be done within and by the United Church of Christ regarding border issues; and
WHEREAS, the United Church of Christ proudly declares an extravagant welcome to all who seek to be in relationship with Jesus Christ;
THEREFORE LET IT BE RESOLVED that General Synod Twenty-six of the United
Church of Christ declares that the Militarized Border Enforcement Strategy of the United States government has been ineffective and inhumane.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that UCC congregations with their congressional
representatives, advocate for a policy that allows immigrant workers and their families to live and work in a safe, legal, orderly and humane manner through an Employment-Focused immigration program (as opposed to employer focused) that guarantees basic international workers’ rights to organization, collective bargaining, job portability, religious freedom, easy and safe travel between the United States and their homeland, achievable and verifiable paths to residency, and a basic human right of mobility.

Hope for Peace & Justice is an interfaith organization but it is also affiliated with the United Church of Christ. After reading the document above, hopefully, you are proud of that fact!