Arizona has recently passed what is being heralded as (or criticized for being) the nation's strongest laws concerning illegal aliens. Proponents say that it finally gets tough with illegal aliens since the US government can't seem to keep up. Opponents say it's going to lead to racial profiling with persons being stopped and questioned for the color of their skin.
It is clear that illegal immigration is a major problem in Arizona and those states that border Mexico. And, while less severe, it's an issue across the nation. While border states have benefited the most, with much of their infrastructure built by immigrants, legal and otherwise, over the last several decades, they have also suffered the most with increased border violence, trafficking in drugs and people, and social stresses. I don't live there. I confess that illegal immigration is an issue I know less about than I should and have less invested in it, personally, than perhaps I should. Anchorage has a lot of immigrants (legal and otherwise). Our Superintendent recently attended a rally and wrote a blog post that included references to United Methodist Social Principles.
I understand that emotions run very high here. Persons feel threatened. Persons are angry. Persons are concerned about financial ramification and what it means to education systems. There are many issues on the table. I don't want to diminish any of this and throw out platitudes or generalizations. However, I do think it's appropriate to look at the example of Scripture, particularly what it says about aliens and nations foreigners. There's a lot there.
The following is a YouTube clip from St Augustine's Episcopal Church in Tempe, Arizona in the wake of this immigration debate. The youth aren't taking sides, but I think their video compels us to ask what it means to remember that we were aliens once and what it means to show hospitality. No one is suggesting that we should have no rules and no guidelines for legal immigration. All who address this issue seriously recognize that there is a lot at stake. However, it would be helpful if we let Scripture help us shape the questions that we should ask.
Watch the video. Scripture references are listed below.
The Scriptures that are read are all from the New Revised Standard Version
It is clear that illegal immigration is a major problem in Arizona and those states that border Mexico. And, while less severe, it's an issue across the nation. While border states have benefited the most, with much of their infrastructure built by immigrants, legal and otherwise, over the last several decades, they have also suffered the most with increased border violence, trafficking in drugs and people, and social stresses. I don't live there. I confess that illegal immigration is an issue I know less about than I should and have less invested in it, personally, than perhaps I should. Anchorage has a lot of immigrants (legal and otherwise). Our Superintendent recently attended a rally and wrote a blog post that included references to United Methodist Social Principles.
I understand that emotions run very high here. Persons feel threatened. Persons are angry. Persons are concerned about financial ramification and what it means to education systems. There are many issues on the table. I don't want to diminish any of this and throw out platitudes or generalizations. However, I do think it's appropriate to look at the example of Scripture, particularly what it says about aliens and nations foreigners. There's a lot there.
The following is a YouTube clip from St Augustine's Episcopal Church in Tempe, Arizona in the wake of this immigration debate. The youth aren't taking sides, but I think their video compels us to ask what it means to remember that we were aliens once and what it means to show hospitality. No one is suggesting that we should have no rules and no guidelines for legal immigration. All who address this issue seriously recognize that there is a lot at stake. However, it would be helpful if we let Scripture help us shape the questions that we should ask.
Watch the video. Scripture references are listed below.
The Scriptures that are read are all from the New Revised Standard Version
- Do not let the foreigner joined to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from his people." (Isaiah 56: 3a)
- And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, . . . these will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer . . . (Isaiah 56: 6a, 7a)
- . . . for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. (Isaiah 56: 7b)
- When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 19: 33, 34)
- You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 22:21)
- You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. (Exodus 23:9)
- You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow's garment in pledge. Remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there. (Exodus 24: 17-18a)
- When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes
- ...of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19: 9,10)
- When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow . . . (Deuteronomy 24: 19a)
- When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. (Deuteronomy 24: 21)
- For the LORD your God . . . executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and . . . loves the strangers, providing them food and clothing. (Deuteronomy 10: 17, 18)
- You shall also love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 10: 19)
- Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it. (Hebrews 13: 2)
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