What would Jesus say about the factors that lead to immigration?

Question

I am neither Christian nor non-Christian. My question is not so much about "Jesus" as it is about spirituality in general in the US. Do you feel the popular prevailing views on immigration are balanced? Are they compassionate? What would the world's great spiritual leaders have to say about the inequalities that lead to lack of opportunity in our neighboring countries; as well as to genocide, poverty, and infant mortality? Finally, what is the role of the individual in all of this?

Of course anyone who wants to can answer, but preference given to rational, balanced answers.

addendum: not so much asking from a political standpoint, but from one of the heart- I have been bombarded lately with Hispanic-bashing messages from folks who really should know better. Just trying to gain perspective. I believe firmly in separation of church and state.

This is not a political question! I have chosen to dedicate my life to understanding the issues that lead to Central American poverty and immigration, and do what I can to help one small area. My question is about humanity in general...

I would add that I believe a nation's policies may be unjust, and that there are laws of a higher power that supercede the laws of an unjust nation.

Answer 1

in my opinion this goes far beyond anyone's beliefs . our humane nature should be enough to understand that we need to help each other and to understand how is it that we cannot ignore the real reasons behind this issue forever .

i truly believe that if we really put ourselves in the shoes of those who had to come to America and would had never been allowed to do it " the right way " America would had given them what they want long ago .

i know America cannot help everyone on this world but this is not excuse to ignore those who already live here and that in fact had proven to be hard workers , nice people and many times good soldiers . undocumented immigrants had been essencial in all the latest American wars .

i think we should start giving them the value they already have in our society . as u can see in a previus answer they do come from every place in the world and they do it for one thing and one thing only and that its to work .

i say give those who had been out of trouble what they want and do not allow those who had not been helpful to society to remain on the street , of course that includes legal citizens .

Answer 2

Jehovah was the first God to immigrate. That's part of what made him so powerful. He was merely something of a war God for the jews enslaved in Egypt, but he told Moses that he'd get them out of there and take them to a new land if they worshipped him and continued to do so in their new place.
At the time the custom of peoples was to worship the deities of whatever place they were in. It was considered polite; after all, you don't want to anger the local gods by worshipping some guy from far away.
So Jehovah got taken to Palestine where he was promoted from a war god to a sky god. then once he beat the priests of Baal he also took over as the fertility god, and from there it was just a hop, skip, and a jump to monotheism, which, when you consider it, is a pretty good promotion for the Guy.
That's a big part of why he was such a jealous god back in those early days; people were used to worshipping whatever was handy and convenient at the time. It took a lot of years for him to get the jews on board about him being the only one. He didn't even fully beat out the other gods he was competing with until they got back to Israel from their enslavement in Babylon.
So personally I think that God is sympathetic to immigrants.
And I don't see how you can refer to genocide, poverty, lack of opportunity, and infant mortality in neighboring countries; the USA has most of those categories in spades.
As far as the individual goes, any person has the right to go anywhere he or she wants on this planet and no wall that you build will ever change that. A man will go where his feet take him and that's just the way of the world.
And not just men and God. Studies of genetic history indicate that women have tended to immigrate far more often than men throughout the ages that human beings have lived on this planet.
Everybody is moving around and it has always been that way and it will always be that way.

Answer 3

If this isn't another Jesus question then I don't
know what it is...

What in the world makes you think
that immigration has the tineyest little
thing to do with spirituality?

People want to immigrate to:
A.) Escape persecution.
B.) Get better paying jobs
C.) Provide a better future for their children
D.) Get better educations

It has nothing to do with spirits or theology.
it is a matter of education, wages, and being able
to eat 3 square meals a day.

My wife was born in the Philippines where there
are some 85 million people and only about 20
million jobs. What do the rest of the people do?
Right...They don't know either. Do you realize that the
normal working age for women in the Philippines is
Age 16 to Age 24. After that age (24) the stores and malls don't want to hire them, so they are fired. Nurses
are an unusual exception to this rule. What is the normal
working age for Women here in the USA??? Something like 18 to 65 ??? Right? So that is what immigration is all about, not some wild theory or concept. Folks just want to work and earn a living.

Answer 4

Jesus would tell Americans to accept legal immigrants, but also tell the illegals to follow America's laws. There are numerous Bible passages saying to accept foreigners, but there is also this: Romans 13: 1-7

"Let every person be subordinate to the higher authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been established by God. Therefore, whoever resists authority opposes what God has appointed, and those who oppose it will bring judgment upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear to good conduct, but to evil. Do you wish to have no fear of authority? Then do what is good and you will receive approval from it, for it is a servant of God for your good. But if you do evil, be afraid, for it does not bear the sword without purpose; it is the servant of God to inflict wrath on the evildoer. Therefore, it is necessary to be subject not only because of the wrath but also because of conscience. This is why you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Pay to all their dues, taxes to whom taxes are due, toll to whom toll is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due."

-Although the Bible says to respect immigrants and foreigners, it was written at a time when there were no borders. Since the Bible also says to respect the laws of higher authority (the only exception to this law being if the government wants you to violate the Ten Commandments) the illegals (to a certain extent) are disobeying God. (Some Catholics, huh?)

Now, you bring up other spiritual leaders? I honestly don't know what they are preaching. As far as the role of individuals, we should want people to follow laws. Are most views balanced? You are either for illegal immigration or you are not. There are not many gray areas. However, if deportation ever happens, there will always be the supporters of illegals that will make sure everything is "humane", so in the end things probably will be balanced. However, I agree with what many people are saying on here: Don't mix religion with politics. We don't want to live in a country where we are forced to join a specific religion, nor do we want to live in a country where religion is forbidden.

Answer 5

What the Bible says about Immigration

President Bush Inaugural Prayer Reverend Kirbyjon Caldwell Offers
Thursday, January 20, 2005

"Oh Lord God Almighty, the supply and supplier of faith and freedom, how excellent is Your name in all the earth. You are great and greatly to be praised. God, as we conclude this 55th inaugural ceremony, we conclude it with an attitude of thanksgiving. Thank You for protecting America's borders. After all, the Psalmist reminds us, unless You, O God, guard the territory, our efforts will be in vain.


Exodus 23:20-31 "I will establish your borders from the Red Sea to the Sea of the Philistines, and from the desert to the River. I will hand over to you the people who live in the land and you will drive them out before you.

Exodus 20:12-17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."

Proverbs 25:17-17 17 "Seldom set foot in your neighbor's house-- too much of you, and he will hate you."

Leviticous 19:11-"'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly."

In chapter 13 of the apostle Paul's Letter to the Romans, the English translation reads, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed...

Romans 13:1-2). Clearly, this is advice to Christians to follow the laws of their nation and to respect the laws of other nations.

Answer 6

Well, this is just my own belief, but the things that lead to SOME immigration are serious social problems. For example, in 1994 genocide in Rwanda killed about a million people. No one really helped. Darfur threatens to be a similar situation. In Burma, the oppressive regime there raped and killed whomever they pleased, and it still stands on shaky ground today. How many refugees have we taken in from these countries? What have we done to help people survive? If illegal immigration/immigration was truly a human issue, why do we not help these people? Why do we exploit labor from people, as the Bible specifically states we should NOT do. Why are we willing to ignore our own needy, instead of trying to get votes and please people who broke our laws and demand special treatment for it? I believe we should help people not by encouraging illegal immigration, but by helping them straighten out there own situation in their own countries. By helping other people be stronger economically, we are not only preventing many social problems, we are helping ourselves by getting back strong allies and economically strong trading partners. And taking the stress off our immigration system. As for Jesus, the Bible tells us to be kind to immigrants, but not to help them break the law. In fact, it specifically says we are to obey the laws of the land. It is also says we are not to exploit people, not to earn money by using immoral practices.
The role of the individual is up to the indivdual in question, God gave us free will and a mind of our own to make these choices.
I really can't say anything about those from other faiths, as I do not practice them, and such questions could surely be better answered by someone who does. I hope this has answered your question.

Shabbaash- You can believe what you like- but Jesus was a Jew, not a Christian, and he cared for all people.

Answer 7

Jesus was a wonderer and a nomad. Jesus is only caring for the white Christians. He has simply abandoned all the other race. So if you are white American then sleep well because Jesus is on your side for now

Answer 8

He would expect people to obey the laws of the country.

Answer 9

Jesus said do unto others as you would have them do unto you, but he also gave us leaders and laws and such, so he does expect the immigrants to obey our laws as well.

Answer 10

Jesus would say: leave the Americans alone. Go back to your country and live in peace.