As a Baptist opposed to abortion, my pro-life position is rooted in seeing every human being created by God as holding immense value to our Creator. When we view humans as image bearers of the divine, we are obligated to treat one another with love, respect and protection.
While I am elated that many evangelicals uphold the dignity of human life while advocating against abortion, it is grievous to witness the absence of a similar consideration for undocumented immigrants who have not committed violent crimes.
Christians such as executive director of the Center for Baptist Leadership, William Wolfe, believe Jesus Christ would support ICE and mass deportations. Putting aside the extensive scriptural evidence disputing this claim, there were at least 30 deaths in ICE custody last year, the highest number since 2004.
This administration’s raids and the evangelical support for such actions are despite Iranian Christians being among those deported back to certain suffering because of their faith and an illegal immigrant nabbed by ICE while serving his neighbors through a food pantry inside a Methodist Church in Los Angeles.
Unfortunately, it seems many evangelicals like Wolfe believe the United States has a binary choice of either failing to enforce any immigration law or these punitive enforcement measures. It does not. In the words of Presbyterian seminarian and Texas State Rep. James Talarico, America can simultaneously have “a welcome mat out front and a lock on the door.”
Returning to upholding human dignity, a truly Christ-centric view on immigration allows for the mercy, empathy and compassion the Gospels continually highlight about Jesus Christ. It means refusing to allow ourselves to degrade or hate other human beings created in God’s image, even if they chose to cross our border illegally. And it means protecting the lives of fellow image bearers of God, whether unborn or migrant.
Matthew Kolb, Siloam Springs, Ark.
Student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary