Kerby Anderson
The immigration problem has been festering for years, and so any attempt to solve the immigration problem will not be easy. In the midst of that have been questions from Christians honestly asking how they should apply a biblical solution to this contemporary issue.
Samuel Rodriquez is the president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference and James Robison is an evangelist and founder of LIFE Outreach. They have been working on the immigration problem for years and have a proposal that reconciles the rule of law with compassion and pragmatism. Their five points provide something for every sector of society to address.
“First, we must secure our borders.” That will include a wall with physical elements and technology. And we should acknowledge that other illegals did not sneak across the border but overstayed their visas.
“Second, establish a non-amnesty path toward legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify.” This guest worker program would apply to those now employed.
“Third, employers must accept their responsibilities. They should be required, going forward, to use E-Verify to document that every employee they hire is legally entitled to work.”
“Fourth, we must assimilate immigrants and guest workers. This should include training in civics and English.” This is to prevent what has been called “reverse assimilation” where the immigrant culture displaces the native culture.
“Fifth, we should reform programs that discourage work.” Milton Friedman once said, “You cannot simultaneously have free immigration and a welfare state.” We should help immigrants and refugees find gainful employment.
Rodriquez and Robison recognize that no solution is perfect, but this is their proposal to bring together biblical concerns and biblical compassion to a difficult issue. Congress needs to seriously consider their proposals.
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