Christians want immigration reforms that honor law, keep families together | Commentary
As an evangelical pastor, I believe the biblical teaching that all Christians compose a single body. I believe that when one part of that body is suffering, we all suffer with it. Therefore, I cannot be indifferent to the plight of the immigrants within my own congregation and within local churches throughout this country who are trapped in a dysfunctional immigration system.
President Biden has promised immigration reform. However, presidential proposals alone will not change the situation for the immigrants in our city. Bipartisan cooperation is required to pass legislation through both houses of Congress. I’m praying that Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall will lead the way in forging bipartisan consensus.
An urgent place to start is by creating a permanent solution for Dreamers, young immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. There’s a biblical principle that a child should not be punished for the offenses of their parents. Adult immigrants who have come to the U.S. unlawfully (or, in many cases, overstayed a lawful temporary visa) for various reasons, some of which we can certainly sympathize with, did knowingly violate an immigration law. Those who were brought to the U.S. as children, however, were too young to have made such a decision and should not be held responsible for this violation of the law. Having grown up here in Kansas and elsewhere in the U.S., they’re already American in every way except for on paper. They deserve the chance to apply to become U.S. citizens — but that would require congressional action.
Dreamers, many of whom have temporary protections under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that allow them to live and work lawfully in the U.S., have been educated in the U.S. and are already contributing in many ways as workers, taxpayers, entrepreneurs and consumers. But legal challenges to the DACA program could suddenly lead them to lose their ability to work lawfully and provide for themselves and their families.
After our society has poured into in their education, it would be illogical to then not grant them the opportunity to work and invest back into our communities. The only way to permanently provide Dreamers with the certainty of their place in our society that they yearn for is for Congress to work on a bipartisan basis. A bill to allow Dreamers to become citizens recently passed the House of Representatives, and a bipartisan Dream Act has been introduced in the U.S. Senate.
Bipartisan efforts on behalf of Dreamers, however, should be only a first step. We also need broader immigration reforms that facilitate legal immigration and ensure secure borders. Those who came unlawfully to the U.S. as adults could be given the chance to make restitution for their violation of law by paying a fine (which is very different than amnesty) and then have the chance to earn permanent legal status and eventually citizenship. These are the principles that thousands of evangelical Christians have called for in an Evangelical Call for Restitution-Based Immigration Reform.
As a pastor, immigration isn’t primarily a political issue for me: it’s a biblical issue. Immigrants are repeatedly mentioned in the Old Testament alongside orphans and widows as uniquely vulnerable. God demonstrates, as he establishes the family unit in creation, that he intends for children to be nurtured by their parents, so we have a Christian impetus to keep families together whenever possible.
And Jesus makes clear in his parable of the Good Samaritan that the command to love our neighbors includes those who are different from us. We can pursue policies that reflect these values of love, compassion and family unity while also respecting the rule of law, honoring another biblical principle.
I’m praying for the day when the Dreamers and other immigrants within my own congregation will be welcomed as new citizens of the United States. Our Kansas congressional leaders can make that day happen.