Morality vs. Immigration: It's not un-Christian to deport illegal trespassers (Insight)

Published: Sunday, January 08, 2012, 8:22 AM   By Press-Register Editorial Board

By RUSTY JOHNSON

Special to the Press-Register

There are pastors and bishops in Alabama who have attempted to turn immigration into a moral issue and have deemed it un-Christian to deal with illegal aliens and deport illegal trespassers.

But they are mistaken.

If we turn to the Holy Bible to learn what God says about this issue, we see that God himself established the nations after Noah’s flood, according to Genesis 10:32. And the Book of Deuteronomy tells us that not only did God separate the nations, but he also set the borders of the first nations.

This truth is further attested in the New Testament in the Book of Acts, which states that God made the nations and set the bounds of their habitations. So then, national sovereignty and national borders were ordained by Almighty God.

Also, the Bible tells us that God made a special nation — Israel — to be a blessing to all of the world. In order to ensure that Israel maintained its sovereignty and land, God issued strict national laws — including very strict immigration laws.

Permit me to cite specific passages from the Bible that support this assertion.

Immigrants to Israel were called strangers, and citizens of Israel were not allowed to marry strangers unless they became proselytes, or naturalized citizens (Deuteronomy 7:1-4).

Every stranger was obligated to obey the law just like natural-born citizens (Deuteronomy 31:12). Strangers in Israel received the same punishment as the home-born, including the death penalty (Leviticus 24:16-22).

No stranger could ever lawfully be king in Israel, only natural-born citizens (Deuteronomy 17:15).

In the Book of Ezra, we read that many Jews had married un-naturalized strangers and were made to send them home. Some of them had children by those wives.

Was it un-Christian for God to deport those illegal trespassers? Was it a lack of compassion by God himself?

No. God knew that allowing un-naturalized strangers to remain in Israel would compromise its national sovereignty.

Then, in the New Testament (John 2:13-16), we read that Jesus went to the temple and saw trespassers unlawfully buying and selling and exchanging money. They were not there to worship or offer sacrifice; they were there to merchandise the temple.

Jesus made a whip of small chords and violently turned over the tables and ran the trespassers out of the temple. He would have allowed them to come the right way and for the right purpose of worshipping, but he would not allow them to unlawfully compromise the sanctity of the temple.

Likewise, it is not un-Christian to deport illegal trespassers in America who are here only to merchandise our nation and are unwilling to honor our laws and way of life.

We open our arms to all who come legally and pledge allegiance to our flag, abide by our laws, uphold our Constitution, respect our traditions and learn our language.

It is not a lack of compassion to take an illegal immigrant away from his American family, subject him to our laws and send him back to his native country.

Do we not demand the same for our own citizens who are convicted of illegal activity? Do we not take them away from their families, subject them to our laws and send them to prison?

Is that unfair or un-Christian? Should we grant amnesty and pardon to all criminals in our prison system to prove we are Christians?

Of course not. Tolerance for illegal activity in the name of compassion is not Christianity.

America is a compassionate nation to foreigners. We help feed and protect many in the world who cannot take care of themselves. True Christian compassion is not political, but practical.

The worst travesty that could happen to all the unfortunates of the world who long to come to this great nation for freedom and prosperity would be for America to lose her sovereignty and national identity.

If America perishes, so do the hopes of all the world. That’s why keeping our borders secure, and upholding law and order for all people within our boundaries,are an act of compassion.

The Rev. C.H. "Rusty" Johnson is pastor of Lighthouse of Hope Holiness Church in Irvington. His email address is This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .