The United States of America is a nation of immigrants; this is simply a matter of history. Immigration is part of the lifeblood of the American experience. However, immigration is currently at the heart of one of the most divisive political debates in the nation. Specifically, the issue of illegal immigration. America, like every other nation in the world, has immigration laws that govern who can enter, how and when they can come, and even make provision for those who wish to become permanent residents or citizens. Those who refuse to obey immigration laws are considered illegal immigrants, and they are the persons at the center of the debate. And that debate is getting hotter by the moment.

Those who hold conservative political views believe that immigration laws should be upheld, and those who violate the laws should be returned to their country of origin. Others who profess progressivist views argue that “no person is illegal” and seemingly want immigration laws ignored or abolished. They demand that all law enforcement efforts to identify illegal aliens and detain them until deported should either immediately cease or be severely curtailed. Those holding this view have been so vitriolic that it has resulted in numerous confrontations with federal law enforcement agencies, some with tragic results. Those engaged in protests have resisted and attacked officers, destroyed city properties, and have even invaded a church, which was claimed to have a pastor who worked for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Many such protestors and online agitators have argued that Christians who support ICE efforts are violating their biblical convictions and should be fighting against immigration enforcement rather than supporting it. Therefore, Christians should understand what Scripture actually entails on the matter.

Christians Are to be Loving

One of the chief arguments made against Christians is that God calls us to be loving toward others, but that supporting deportation is unloving of immigrants. It is true that Jesus Christ taught that the two greatest commandments were to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself (see Matt. 22:34–40). Furthermore, he gave the disciples a new commandment, to love one another, just as he loved them (John 13:34–35). However, what does this love look like? First off, the commandment to the disciples is specifically about Christians loving one another, meaning that love is first and foremost for the church. This does not mean that Christians only love other Christians and hate everyone else. However, what it does mean is that Christians are to primarily focus their energy on loving and serving the body of Christ as a living testimony to the love they have for Jesus. That relationship demonstrates to the world what God’s love looks like in those who have been redeemed by his glorious grace.

Even when Christians love their neighbor outside the church, that love is not merely an emotional reaction to the existence of others. It is a love that serves, teaches, corrects, and even rebukes (1 Cor. 5:13; 12:1–11; 2 Tim. 4:2). Christians love one another by calling other Christians to obedience and holiness, and bringing correction when needed. They fail to show love when sin is left unchecked, which can bring greater problems within the body of Christ. In like manner, Christians show love to the unbelieving world when we call out sin as Jesus did (see Matt. 5-7; 23) and call them to repentance and faith in Christ (see Rom. 10:5–17). While Christians can serve the world by providing for actual physical needs, the church’s greatest show of love is to call unbelievers out of sin and into Christ. For if all the needs in the world were met, yet souls remain unredeemed, then unbelievers are merely made comfortable in the world while remaining on the path to Hell.

To Disobey Just Laws is to Sin

One of the common graces God has bestowed on all people, believer and unbeliever alike, is that he has ordained the authority of governments to establish just laws for the protection of the people and the punishment of evildoers. While many governments have abused this authority for sinful purposes, that does not negate that God has established these authorities for our common benefit (see Rom. 13:1–7). Furthermore, God establishes boundaries inside and outside of nations (see Deut. 19:14; 27:17; 32:8 Num. 34; Acts 17:26). He also established laws governing the presence of aliens and sojourners in the midst of Israel. God is a just God and provides for the authority of nations to uphold the borders of their lands and to hold accountable those who would violate the laws in wrongly crossing them.

Christians, therefore, should desire to see just and upright laws that protect national boundaries for the safety and protection of a nation’s citizens. This is not to say that Christians should be isolationists or xenophobic, never wanting other people to come and enjoy the bounty of this land. Rather, in upholding just immigration laws, Christians seek to provide legal means for immigrants to come seek a better life for themselves and their families. By seeking to have borders secured, they love their neighbors by ensuring that those who refuse to obey the law cannot harm others, be they believer or unbeliever. Harm can be through criminal acts or the strain on local resources as cities and counties are overwhelmed by those who thwart the laws of the land, preventing one’s own neighbors from receiving the provisions they need. It is not lacking in love to desire to see the God-given authority of the State used to protect the God-established boundaries of one’s nation.

Furthermore, Christians demonstrate love when they support the legal enforcement of immigration law. Those who violate the just laws of a nation find themselves in rebellion against God. Paul’s own teaching warns Christians that those who resist such laws, “will incur judgment” because the government is terror to bad conduct, “for he is God’s servant for your good” (Rom 13:2–4). To oppose the God-ordained authority that exercises just laws is to face the one who “does not bear the sword in vain” (v. 4). Not all laws are just; this is true, for even the apostles opposed the Sanhedrin, who ordered them not to preach in the name of Christ, a command they rightly refused to obey (Acts 4:17–20). But the exception is not the rule. God has established boundaries, God has established authorities, and God calls on nations to protect the people by punishing the lawbreaker. Therefore, Christians should call on those who break immigration law to renounce their sinful acts and demonstrate willingness to be held accountable, just as they would expect anyone within the church who violates a just law to face the legal consequences.

Love Points Everyone to Christ

Ultimately, every Christian loves by pointing all people to Christ. For the fellow believer, Christians call one another to serve, worship, and conform themselves to the image of Christ. For the unbelieving world, the church calls them out of sin and into faith in Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins. Even when Christians serve the world through charity, medical provisions, adoption, provisions of food or finances, and more, it is with the intention to magnify the grace and glory of God to the world. Love is not about simply making someone feel better about themselves. Love is about bringing one another to their knees in humility, recognizing there is nothing good within oneself, yet seeing the grace of God poured out because he is a kind and loving God who takes away the sins of the repentant and faithful.

Christians should not be harangued into a false form of love that flaunts disobedience at the expense of others. They should submit to the truly biblical love of Christ, which calls out sins, seeks to hold the guilty accountable for their sins, and ultimately points back to the Savior who graciously redeems. That is the true love that should be shown to those who violate the law, and it is the love that Christians should never be ashamed to give.