Evangelicals & Immigration

Yesterday, the NY Times reported "Department of Homeland Security officials, responding to sharp criticism on Monday from a union representing 12,000 of its employees, said they had added many safeguards in recent years to protect against fraud and security violations by foreigners seeking to live in the United States.

The officials reacted swiftly to a statement by Kenneth Palinkas, president of the National Citizenship and Immigration Services Council, in which he called on lawmakers to reject an immigration bill before the Senate, saying security procedures were weak for checking the backgrounds of millions of immigrants who would apply for immigration documents under the legislation.

Mr. Palinkas said he was adding his signature to a letter to Congress from a separate union that represents 7,700 federal deportation agents, which charged that the Senate bill would be a “significant barrier to the creation of a safe and lawful system of immigration.”"

Recently WORLD magazine posted an article entitled, "A Christian Conversation on Immigration". The article offered two diverse perspectives on how believers should approach the immigration reform debate.

In that article Tooley writes, "I would caution Christians against sweeping “comprehensive” legislative solutions to deep, pervasive political problems. Solutions to most political challenges are more typically incremental. And in our fallen world, reputed solutions, even when implemented relatively effectively, usually create new problems demanding attention."

He goes on to advise Christians to "avoid rhetoric that romanticizes immigrants".