Matthew Soerens

Who Is My Neighbor?

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Thinking Biblically about Refugees & Immigration

A Troubling Statistic

• Just 20% of evangelical Christians say their views on the arrival of immigrants are primarily informed by the Bible (LifeWay Research, 2022)

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Jesus Himself was a child refugee

(or possibly an asylum seeker)

Matt. 2:13-18

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Illustration by Kelly Pulley, from The Beginner’s Bible

Legal Definitions

• A refugee is a person who has fled their country because of a well-founded fear of persecution on account of their:

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• An asylum seeker is an individual who professes to meet this legal definition of a refugee upon arrival in the country where they wish to stay, but whose case has not yet been adjudicated by an appropriate authority
• Globally, more than 100 million people are forcibly displaced, including refugees, asylum seekers and more than 50 million who are “internally displaced” (UN High Commissioner for Refugees)

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• National Origin
• Social Group

• Race
• Religion
• Political Opinion

Refugees and other immigrants are made in the Image of God and possess inherent dignity and potential (Gen. 1:26-27)

Economics of Refugees & Immigrants

• 44% of Fortune 500 Companies were founded or cofounded by a refugee or other immigrant or their children (New American Economy)
• 20 years after arrival, the average refugee adult has contributed approximately $21,000 more in taxes than they have received in governmental assistance and services at all levels (University of Notre Dame study)
• An extensive study by The National Academies of the Sciences, Engineering and Medicine “concludes that immigration has an overall positive impact on long-run economic growth in the U.S.” (National Academies study)
• Almost all economists believe that the net economic impact of immigration on the U.S. is positive, including 96% of economists surveyed by the Wall Street Journal who believe that the net economic impact of illegal immigration is positive

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God loves and cares for the vulnerable: the orphan, the widow, and the foreigner – and he commands his people to as well (Deut. 10:17-19; Ps. 146:9; Zech. 7:9-10; Jer. 22:3; Mal. 3:5)

God’s commanded the people of Israel to remember and rehearse their own story as foreigners and to allow that experience to inform their response to others (Ex. 23:9, Deut. 26:1-5)

History of Immigration to the U.S.

• The history of the United States includes conflicting approaches to immigrants from the early days of the nation – skepticism & restriction from some, welcome & integration from others
• Benjamin Franklin (1751): Why should [immigrants] establish their Language and Manners to the Exclusion of ours? Why should Pennsylvania, founded by the English, become a Colony of Aliens who will shortly be so numerous as to [change] us instead of our Anglifying them, and will never adopt our Language or Customs, any more than they can acquire our complexion?
• George Washington (1783): America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions, whom we shall welcome to participate to all of our rights and privileges, if by decency and propriety of conduct they appear to merit the employment.

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History of Immigration to the U.S.

• 1820-1860: First Great European Wave
• Over 5 million immigrants arrived in this era, 20 times more than arrived in the previous 40 years
• Most were Irish (fleeing the potato famine) or German (fleeing political repression after a failed attempted revolution in 1848)
• Many were Catholics, whom many Protestant Americans viewed as a threat, “an invading enemy, audaciously conspiring, under the mask of holy religion, against the liberties of our country“
• Despite some anti-immigrant sentiment, immigration policy remained entirely open, with no federal restrictions

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History of Immigration to the U.S.

• US President Polk offered to buy California and New Mexico from Mexico for $25 million
• Mexico refused and the US declared war, ultimately forcing Mexico into a treaty that gave them more states for just $15 million
• Fueled in part by the idea of "Manifest Destiny," that the U.S. had a God-given responsibility to expand its territory
• Ulysses S. Grant called the war “one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation”
• Abraham Lincoln said it was an unprovoked attack and President Polk would "feel the blood of this war, like the blood of Abel...crying to Heaven against him.”
• With the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, roughly 100,000 Mexicans became Americans when the US-Mexico border shifted south

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- Mexican-American War (circa 1848)

History of Immigration to the U.S.

• Chinese Immigration & Exclusion (1848-1890)
• Chinese immigration was sparked by the Gold Rush in 1848, then continued as Chinese laborers were recruited to build the Transcontinental Railroad
• As jobs became more scarce for native workers, local laws began to target the Chinese; violence and forced displacement were common
• Facing mounting anti-Chinese sentiment, a congressional report found in 1876 that there was not "sufficient brain capacity in the Chinese race to furnish motive power for self-government" and “there is no Aryan or European race which is not far superior to the Chinese”
• The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 restricted almost all immigration from China until finally repealed in 1943
• Protestant Christians on the West Coast advocated valiantly for Chinese immigrants, arguing that discrimination against and mistreatment toward the Chinese hindered evangelization efforts

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History of Immigration to the U.S.

• 1881-1920: Second Great European Wave
• 23 million immigrants arrived during this period, during which the US population reached a still-unprecedented high of 15% foreign-born
• Many immigrants were fleeing poverty and/or violence in Italy, Russia and Poland; most were Catholic or Jewish
• Beginning in 1892, processed through Ellis Island
• Gradually, influenced by pseudo-scientific eugenicist theories, Congress passed additional restrictions on immigration throughout this era
• The restrictions culminated in the 1920 with the National Origins Quota Act, creating the requirement of a visa and restricting visas mostly to a few Northern and Western European countries (with exceptions within the Western Hemisphere)

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History of Immigration to the U.S.

• Immigration & Nationality Act of 1965
• In the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, many questioned the National Origins Quota system, which explicitly favored immigrants from particular European countries
• The 1965 immigration reform allocated visas based on two factors
• Employer sponsorship
• Family sponsorship
• Whether or not Congress’ intention, the bill opened up immigration beyond Europe, particularly to Asia and Africa

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We are commanded to love our neighbors—without caveats

(Lev. 19:18, 34; Luke 10:25-37)

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Refugees and Terrorism

• Refugees admitted through the U.S. Refugee Admissions program already are subjected to the most thorough vetting of any category of visitor or immigrant to the US (Heritage Foundation)
• Since the Refugee Act of 1980, 0 Americans have lost their life in a terrorist attack perpetrated by a refugee (Cato Institute)

Immigrants and Crime in Texas

Source: Michael Light, Jingying He & Jason P. Robey, “Comparing Crime Rates between Undocumented Immigrants, Legal Immigrants, and Native-Born US Citizens in Texas,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2020

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We are commanded to be subject to governing authorities (Rom. 13:1-5)

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Comprehensive Immigration Reform Proposals

• Past bipartisan legislative immigration reform proposals sought to:
• Make it harder to immigrate illegally, by improving border security
• Make it easier to immigrate legally, adapting the U.S. visa system to be more responsive to needs of the U.S. labor market and of families seeking reunification
• Create an earned legalization process for immigrants in the U.S. unlawfully who pay a fine and meet various other qualifications

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• Many evangelical Christians have rallied behind a version of this framed as a Restitution-Based Immigration Reform, which seeks to both honor the law and keep families together, avoiding either amnesty or mass deportation (or simply the status quo)

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Refugees and other immigrants – including some who were persecuted for their faith – are helping to revitalize American Christianity. And when we welcome them, we welcome Jesus himself (Matthew 25:35)

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Immigrants May Be Bringing Spiritual Revival

“86% of the immigrant population in North America are likely to either be Christians or become Christians. That’s far above the national average…The immigrant population actually presents the greatest hope for Christian renewal in North America… We shouldn’t see this as something that threatens us. We should see this as a wonderful opportunity.”

— Dr. Timothy Tennent, missiologist & president, Asbury Theological Seminary

Source: Open Doors USA/World Relief Closed Doors Report, 2020

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By welcoming those of other faiths, we have opportunities to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19) and to “give an answer to everyone who asks” for the reason for the hope within us (1 Pet. 3:15)

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A Missional Opportunity

• Something is missionally malignant whenever we are willing to make great sacrifices to travel the world to reach a people group but are not willing to walk across the street.
• Missiologist J.D. Payne, Samford University

A Christian Response to Refugees & Immigration

Prayer

Listening evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/iwasastranger

Empowering Churches Abroad worldrelief.org/church

Advocacy evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/advocacy

Serving Locally worldrelief.org/us

Evangelism

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Current Public Policy Concerns

• Bipartisan Border Solutions Act
• Dream Act
• Afghan Adjustment Act
• Farm Workforce Modernization Act
• Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act
• Adoptee Citizenship Act
• Current Sign-On Letter: bit.ly/EITLameDuck

A City on a Hill

I've thought a bit of the "shining city upon a hill." In my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, windswept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace… And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.

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President Ronald Reagan, 1989

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You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

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Matthew 5:14-16 ESV

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A City on a Hill

Learn More

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Twitter: @MatthewSoerens, @Christy_Staats, @WorldRelief

www.WorldRelief.org

www.EvangelicalImmigrationTable.com

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