Is it Christian to be Politically Conservative on Illegal Immigration?

Yes, you most certainly can be conservative on immigration as a believer. Many may now be blowing their proverbial gaskets, gasping at how a professing believer could hold to such ridiculous and ruthless views. In less you dwell in a hole you have no doubt heard of the border crisis taking place in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. In light of a belief that they would be granted amnesty, roughly 60,000 illegals are now being processed, with the total illegal immigration numbers estimated to be higher.
Many of these immigrants being children, combined with the evidence of rape, child trafficking, and murder has made this into a severe humanitarian crisis. We cannot blame these Central Americans wanting to leave their countries. Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador have among the highest murder rates worldwide.
Then how does a Christian sleep at night when he/she still opposes letting these people into the country and giving them amnesty? Doesn’t the Bible have a lot to say about helping the poor and those in need? Surely Jesus said we were to help the poor, especially children? These are all valid concerns, and must be addressed courteously and with conviction.
1. This is a humanitarian crisis, but cannot be handled with amnesty and an open border
Rape, murder, and other illicit crimes are plaguing these children on their trip to the border. It is a genuine humanitarian crisis. Last month Ted Cruz wrote a letter explaining the dire circumstances children were facing on the trip to the border. First, they are being sent with drug cartel members and other nefarious criminals, that, in and of itself screams danger. Secondly, officials at Lackland Air Force base believed that 1/3 of female children were raped or abused on their way to the border. An estimated 52,000 children alone have been taken into custody since October of last year. If you cut that number in in half you could assume roughly 27,000 of those children are female. 1/3 of 27,000 is 9,000. In just the number of female children who have been taken into custody, roughly 9,000 have been raped/abused.
Who knows what the actual number is when you take into account those who were not taken into custody. This article explains how the border crisis is ripe for human traffickers to take advantage of children through prostitution, child pornography….wait for it, organ harvesting. This is a travesty, as Christian’s we believe in the inherent worth of every human individual, this idea is solidly anchored within the biblical theme of the ‘Imago Dei’, that being, every human is made in the image of God, therefore they must be respected as valuable to both God and humanity.
What is then to blame for the increased number of immigrants flocking to the border? It is because of the DACA law that Obama has brought into effect; in short, these children believe that they will be granted amnesty if they can make it to the U.S. This will help one to better understand why children are coming. Whether the Obama administration had pure motives in this is irrelevant, the harm it has caused to children, and will cause to American’s and the economy will be extreme if something is not done.
At this point, I am sure there are some out there who think, “This guy is crazy. He just wants to dump them in the desert to die”.
NO.
As already mentioned, all humans are of value, and must be treated as valuable. To stop this, we must first send a clear message to these Central American countries that they will not be granted amnesty, but deported. This is key if we are to stop the human trafficking and sex crimes that these children experience.
That raises another good question. Aren’t these children fleeing crime and gang related violence? Yes, and no one could in good conscience blames these poor children for wanting to escape. To solve this, we must coordinate with these countries to reduce crime and create safer environments. If Obama can ask for 3.7 billions dollars to solve this issue, surely we could take a small percentage of that and use to help revitalize these countries. I am not entirely sure how we would do this, but America is great. We have smart people. They could figure it out.
Lastly, we must secure the border. If we do not, any reforms or attempts at stemming this issue will only be for nothing. As already mentioned if Obama can ask for 3.7 billion dollars, America can certainly build a border fence and secure the border.

We must 1. Deport children humanely. 2. Help these countries solve some of their issues. 3. Secure the border. 4. Make the citizenship process easier and quicker, therefore making people less prone to enter illegally.

Not doing these things only insures further crises with child trafficking and sexual abuse, and as a Christian, I believe it is vital that we do not cause a child to stumble in life. Consider Jesus’ words:
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” –Matthew 18:6

 

2. A differentiation must be made between government subsidized welfare assistance and private charity.
The American taxpayer will be footing the bill to house, clothe, and feed these children here illegally. Just last week, President Obama requested 3.7 billion dollars from Congress so as to deal with the border crisis. This is a ridiculous request considering that the U.S. is currently 17 trillion dollars in debt. The Bible puts an emphasis on fiscal responsibility; surprisingly money is mentioned more times than heaven and hell combined in the New Testament. Take Luke 16:11 for an example of good stewardship, “If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches”. It is evident we do not have the resources to deal with this issue. This is where private charity steps in. America has historically been one of the most charitable countries in the world. The Federal and State government should coordinate with charitable groups so as to help these children, until a solution on deportation can be reached in a humane way. The work that Glenn Beck did in feeding and clothing children was completely the Christian thing to do. Many assail him, saying that he wants amnesty for these immigrants. Regardless, he was simply following Christ’s commands to be helpful to those in need. Again, there is a huge difference between wasting tax payer money and charitable donations from the private sector.

3. The current border crisis is also a security risk.
While believers do not find their ultimate hope in man-made government, we do have a responsibility to our temporal governmental authority. Jesus said as much in Luke, “give back to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s” (Luke 20:25). While ultimate power and authority rests with God, he has issued civil government to play a role in his divine plan for humanity, listen to what Paul says, “Everyone must submit to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist are instituted by God. So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves” (Romans 13:1-2).
We are not only told to be obedient to authorities, we are also told to be good citizens, “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work…” (Titus 3:1). We then are required to be submissive, and also be prepared to do good works within the temporal and civil realm.
Therefore we should be in opposition to anything that threatens the security of the people, and the God ordained government. The current border crisis will do exactly that, threaten the security and well-being of its citizens. While we should never hope for an earthly utopia as that was lost with Adam and Eve, we should still try to bring society as close to a state of tranquility and peace as possible.
Many of these illegal immigrants have little regard for the law, made certain by their willingness to cross the border illegally. This article outlines the effects of illegal immigration and a lax border upon criminal activity; specifically drugs, gang violence, human trafficking and other various crimes. The biggest threat is the drug cartel. While not many of these immigrants are part of the cartel, the cartel uses them to disguise their nefarious business. In 2005 alone 2.2 million kilograms of cocaine and 11.6 kilograms of marijuana were smuggled into the U.S. The need to secure the border with a physical barrier, and setting a precedent of deportation and no amnesty is paramount. Gang violence is also a huge issue; a report published by the Governor’s Crime Commission posits that 66 percent of Hispanic/Latino gang members are illegal aliens.
These are all huge issues, but perhaps the biggest security risk lies in radical terrorism finding ways into the U.S. in the same way Hispanics do. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller has alerted Congress that “there are individuals from countries with known Al Qa’ida connections who are changing their Islamic surnames to Hispanic-sounding names and obtaining false Hispanic identities, learning to speak Spanish and pretending to be Hispanic immigrants. After the 9-11 attacks, the threat of radical Islam is real, and palpable. Just recently, Allen West wrote an article on the danger of terrorists finding their way across the border. There was Islamic prayer rug found along the border. Can we deny the high likelihood of terrorists using the border to attack America?
Being a Christian does not mean you cannot have views on political issues, as discussed earlier we are called to submit to governmental authority, but also to be good citizens. We must strive for an America in which crime is fought. The border crisis has surely shown that Illegals put U.S. citizens at risk. And any political policy, such as this administrations policy on immigration, that affects public security and governmental stability, should be rejected by Christians and non-Christians alike.

Rejecting illegal immigration and this administrations polices does not make one a mean-spirited Christian. Rather, it is an informed position based upon the value of human life, fiscal responsibility, and a desire for a safe society.
It is an utterly Christian viewpoint.