ICE has gone too far
Editor’s note: This is one of two alternate perspectives on…
Anti-immigration, pro-love of neighbor
Why Christians should support immigration enforcement.
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Editor’s note: This is one of two alternate perspectives on immigration enforcement. Read the other piece here.
As tensions continue to rise surrounding immigration restriction and federal enforcement of it, Christians are left to consider where God would have us stand. Can a Christian support deportations and stricter limits on legal immigration? I propose that we both can, and should.
Yes, Leviticus 19:33-34 commanded Israel to love foreigners as themselves. This principle should certainly guide us. But does the verse mean that borders are irrelevant? Does it mean that no one can ever be sent home? Does it mean that a nation cannot limit legal immigration?
Of course not. And most of those who point to the Levitical command would probably agree. But when it is used as a mic-drop prooftext, the impression given is that detaining and deporting anyone is inherently a mistreatment and a failure to love.
Related: ICE has gone too far
When you look at the rest of the Mosaic law’s teachings on sojourning, you see a more detailed picture. First of all, the individual sojourners were never meant to be 15 percent of the nation’s residents. Secondly, those visitors were not given full equality under the law (Leviticus 25:44-46; Deuteronomy 23:8, 20) and were required to assimilate (Exodus 23:12; Leviticus 24:22). Third, we’re told that at a certain point the foreigner’s increase is to be seen as a curse on the citizenry (Deuteronomy 28:43).
If our application of Leviticus only goes one way, we’re being unfair to our American neighbors. Love your neighbor, yes. But don’t forget to love all of them.
Aside from our duties as Christians, it is entirely legitimate for nations to have borders and enforce them. In the church, we are all one (Galatians 3:28), but the nation is not the church. The church would be disobedient to God if we drew lines between peoples. The nation would be disobedient if it didn’t.
Federal agents make a traffic stop on a U.S. citizen as they provide their identification including a passport and drivers license, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in Minneapolis.
God separated us into nations of peoples (Genesis 11; Acts 17:26), and nations continue to factor in his plan all the way unto the end (Revelation 21:24-26). Inside those nations, God placed rulers (Romans 13:1-2).
To illegally immigrate is to buck a government’s rightful authority, to trespass on the citizenry, and to cheat those who immigrated legally. Granting amnesty is to give in to squatters’ rights on a national scale. To remove a squatter from your house is to love the people who live there. Letting them stay is wrong, no matter who they are or how difficult it is to see them go.
It is even reasonable for a government to limit legal immigration if it is in their people’s best interests. To be an immigrant is to be a guest, but a nation struggling like ours is not in a position to host guests.
What about ICE’s tactics? Do clashes with protestors mean the operation must be abandoned? No. There is not space here to analyze every viral interaction, but those who support deportations are no more on the hook for explaining everything ICE does than those who support immigration are for every crime any immigrant commits anywhere. The bottom line is that the task they have been sent to do is both legally and morally defensible.
How should we act if we encounter ICE and border patrol officers? Despite what some have said or implied, they are law enforcement officers and should be treated as such. To interfere with their work is potentially a crime. If you believe they have violated a law, pursue legal means of reporting.
“These are human lives we are talking about, which is what makes this issue so challenging. But the personal side of the matter does not mean our doors are open and no one can ever be made to leave.”
What if someone in your church or community is here illegally? Though it can be a heartbreaking process, like Paul with Onesimus we should encourage them to comply with the law (Philemon 1:10). Encouraging them or even helping them disobey is to “bring judgment on” them and oneself (Romans 13:2).
These are human lives we are talking about, which is what makes this issue so challenging. But the personal side of the matter does not mean our doors are open and no one can ever be made to leave. You love every guest that comes into your house, but it does not make you any less loving to tell them when it’s time to go home.
JACK WILKIE serves as Digital Content Director at Focus Press and writes weekly at his site, jackwilkie.co. He’s a member of the Pond Church of Christ in Dickson, Tenn.
