Is it Right to Have Sympathy For Illegal Immigrants?

In dealing with the question “Is it Right to Have Sympathy For Illegal Immigrants?”, we are dealing with sympathy for the act of illegal immigration itself and the consequences which those who practice this might face as a result of doing so. Nothing said here is claiming that we should not regard the hardships others find themselves in and consider what it would be like to be in their shoes. However, does this justify having sympathy for illegal immigrants? There is a twist to the answer which will be put forth here which isn’t comfortable for anyone.

Though illegal immigration is a political issue, don’t think of it as one in the way that the media often portrays it. One does not have to be a blind follower of Donald Trump in order to be against illegal immigration. There is even enough evidence out there now to warrant not having sympathy for Donald Trump if he should be arrested himself and put on trial for many crimes.

The standard set at the Tower of Babel in Genesis chapter 11, when the Lord confounded the languages of the people and scattered them abroad throughout the earth, demonstrates that national borders are ordained by Him. To treat a nation’s border laws as trivial or non-existent is at its core defiance of the Lord’s verdict which was handed down through this event.

The standard practice in ancient times regarding refugees and other immigrants was for them to get permission from the king of a nation to come dwell there (as is seen by Jacob’s household’s interview with Pharaoh in Genesis 47 and several instances in the life of King David). The upholding of a nation’s appointed process of law and order regarding immigration was not intended to be set aside when the Lord commanded things such as what is seen in Deuteronomy 10:19: “Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”

Jesus was also not an illegal immigrant during His time in Egypt as some claim. He never went outside of the Roman Empire. In the 1st century AD, by the laws of the Roman Empire, free movement between Roman provinces was legal.

Contrary to what some might say, believing that illegal immigration should not be tolerated in America is not a demonstration of American Nationalism nor an act of partiality at all. The only way it could be is if one who is in favor of deporting illegal immigrants in America also believes that Americans should be allowed to enter into other countries without complying with their laws. Moreover, when people from other countries believe that they have a right to sneak into America, while also believing that Americans do not have a right to sneak into their home country, they are nationalists themselves who are practicing the sin of partiality.

Regardless of the nation, don’t assume that every illegal immigrant in it came from extremely difficult circumstances. That would be just as wrong as assuming that none of them did. Regardless of why it happened, every person who crosses another country’s border without permission or stays in a nation longer than they had permission to stay is violating a boundary which they should have honored. The only exception could be someone who is literally running for their life which also reports as soon as possible to the authorities of the nation which they entered into.

Those who illegally immigrate essentially make a decision that they are better than the many who were trying to immigrate to the nation legally. They presumptuously cut to the head of the line. They also decide that the people of the nation should accommodate them by their unwarranted residence there. They make themselves a judge in a matter that wasn’t rightfully theirs to judge by assuming that they are an exception to the rules. Rather than mitigating their crime, these things are only amplified by any children which they bring in with them. And if they try to use their children to help their case when they are in danger of being deported, that further enhances their deceit and aggravates their crime.

Now consider this: Is it right to have sympathy for rich people who think they can get away with almost anything? Should we turn a blind eye to the crimes committed by rich people and instead have sympathy for them? Should we adopt the logic which says “Oh, they can’t help it. All those poor people who want these rich criminals to be punished probably would have done the same crimes if they were in their shoes.” No, that logic is monstrously wicked. Criminals should be punished no matter how disadvantaged or advantaged they are. The Bible even explicitly commands not to show partiality to anyone because they are rich or because they are poor.

Leviticus 19:15: “Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.”

It is false sanctity to think that we ought to have sympathy for people who presumptuously set law and order aside. Otherwise, why have boundaries for anything? The people which say no human should be considered illegal are massive hypocrites. Who just tolerates people entering their own residence without their permission?

The question in the title applies in countless other ways. Anyone can cite the difficulty of their own circumstances to try to justify anything. Where does it end? Everyone eventually finds themselves in situations somehow where doing what is right is extremely difficult.

The Bible doesn’t hide the reality that doing what is right, and upholding what is right in God’s eyes, can be extremely difficult and very costly. It teaches that there is a narrow gate and a narrow way to eternal life. An acceptable walk of faith before God necessitates reckoning oneself as bound by the constraints of His moral law and choosing to suffer accordingly in order to not transgress. It teaches that we are required to not spare ourselves from the bitterness of death to self in this manner. This also involves not justifying others in transgression. True repentance before God must even involve renouncing all sympathy and all empathy for oneself in relation to any sin which one has partaken of. Unrepentant people cannot be cleansed by the blood of Jesus and justified before Him.

It is defiance against the true God when illegal immigration is practiced, justified, and/or enabled. To advocate tolerating illegal immigration and having sympathy towards illegal immigrants who have been deported, or who might be deported, is sympathy with any and all sin in principle. The same can be said of practicing, justifying, and/or enabling any other sin as well.