Dr. Robert Chao Romero speaks of migration as grace: “God uses the migration process to extend his unmerited favor, love, and compassion to both immigrants and their host countries.” We see this clearly in the story of Abraham and Sarah in the Old Testament. God calls Abraham to migrate from his country, and from his people and household to an unknown destination that God will show him. God also tells him, “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing . . . and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Gen. 12:1-3, NRSV). God’s grace and blessings come hand in hand for the immigrants, but also for those in their host country.

Following God’s command required faith and trust, a hallmark of Abraham’s relationship with God that is credited to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6). Throughout this journey, God provides for and protects Abraham and Sarah. In Genesis 20, Abraham is afraid he will be killed for his wife, so he and Sarah lie, saying that Sarah is his sister. When King Abimelech takes Sarah into his house, God steps in to protect her, coming to Abimelech in a dream and telling him the truth. Though Abraham gave in to fear, God protected them both. This experience helps Abraham trust God--even to the point of preparing to sacrifice his only son (Gen. 22:1-19). The experience of migration was crucial in building up Abraham’s faith, a faith that would one day bless all nations. Immigrant people and host people--and, in some cases, the entire world--are blessed by migration.

In the book of Ruth, we see both sides of the grace of immigration. When Naomi is forced to return to Israel after the death of her sons, she is so upset that she tells others to call her Mara, meaning bitter, “because God has dealt so bitterly with me” (Ruth 1:20, NRSV). Ruth, a Moabite, moves to Bethlehem with her mother-in-law and becomes a great blessing to her. She cares for her mother-in-law, provides for her through gleaning, and follows her advice dutifully. Ruth, an immigrant, is a source of grace for Mara.

Boaz, on the other hand, is a blessing to Ruth. He follows the laws of Israel and allows orphans, widows, and immigrants to glean from his fields and vineyards. He even directs his workers to leave extra behind for Ruth. Boaz lives according to just laws and blesses Ruth and Naomi. In turn, Ruth becomes a blessing to Boaz, becoming his wife and having children with him. Ruth becomes the great-grandmother of King David, and from her line comes Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer. The book of Ruth clearly shows how both immigrant people and host people--and, in some cases, the entire world--are blessed by migration.

Migration as Blessing

Blessing is woven into the story of migration. When God commanded Israel to treat immigrant people the same as native Israelites, there was a provision for a blessed community. In both Exodus 12:49 and Leviticus 24:22, God tells Israel that “There shall be one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you” (NRSV). Additionally, the people of Israel had to make sure that immigrants, orphans, and widows had a way to provide for themselves. In Leviticus 19:9-10 and 23:22, Moses tells the people they cannot strip their vineyards bare but should leave produce behind for women, orphans, and immigrants to collect. And every three years, Israelites were required to bring one-tenth of their produce, grain, and livestock, kept as a tithe, and give it to the Levites, immigrants, widows, and orphans. The law required Israel to provide for immigrant people in the same way they provided for the Levites, their priests.

From biblical times to the present day, humans have found ways to scapegoat and exploit those who are vulnerable, so God provides specific protections for such people.These commands flow from a consistent theme in the Bible: everyone should be treated with dignity and equity. God knows that we find it easiest to love people who look and speak and act like us. He names particular groups explicitly so we can’t forget about them. And orphans, widows, and immigrant people share something in common. They are separated from their families, either by distance or death, which can leave them vulnerable to exploitation. From biblical times to the present day, humans have found ways to scapegoat and exploit those who are vulnerable, so God provides specific protections for such people.

Jesus the Migrant

In addition, Jesus himself identifies with the stories of immigrant people who are fleeing violence. Migration is a key part of Jesus’ life, from conception to death and resurrection. Joseph and Mary traveled while Mary was pregnant. The three of them migrated again when Jesus was an infant to flee persecution. As an adult, Jesus traveled widely, even venturing into the enemy land of Samaria. Then he traversed the depths of hell, returned to earth, and finally ascended to heaven.

Throughout the New Testament, the authors write about hospitality. In Romans 12:9-13, we are told to “hate evil and love good, to serve the lord and rejoice in hope, and to extend hospitality to strangers” (NRSV). In Hebrews 13:1-3, we are told to “show hospitality to strangers, because in doing this some have entertained angels without knowing it” (NRSV). The Greek word for hospitality in Hebrews 13:1 is philoxenia, which means “to love the foreigner.” The word entertained, used just afterwards in Hebrews 13:3, is xenisantes, which means “receiving the foreigner.”

The root word for both those verbs is xenos, or foreigner. In fact, xenos is used in Matthew 25:35: “I was a stranger (xenos) and you welcomed me.” Jesus is saying that he is the foreigner, the immigrant person. Jesus continually crossed borders, both physical and spiritual. Jesus’ reconciliation work is not just to reconcile us to God, but also to reconcile and unite us with each other across divisions or borders.

Migration Strengthens the Church

Sandy Ovalle also says that migration involves both loss and hope. This is probably another reason the experience of migration is central to our Christian faith. When we migrate to a new place or when we welcome and fully embrace immigrant people, our faith is made stronger. Through the journey, our trust in God and God’s people grows.

Many immigrant people talk about how their faith was a part of what kept them moving forward during the hard trip to migrate to another place. Some will tell you that the coritos, Psalms, and songs of their faith communities were all they had during the long nights when their final destination seemed impossibly far away.

When we migrate or when we welcome immigrant people, our faith communities are made stronger. In literal ways, immigrant people are helping our churches grow. In 2013, 60 percent of all immigrant people arriving in the US identified as Christian. According to a 2019 Christianity Today article, “First-generation immigrants are leading the Latino evangelical expansion in the US--drawing in more unchurched believers and new converts than the average church plan, despite having smaller congregations, less funding, and tensions surrounding US immigration policy.”
Jesus’ reconciliation work is not just to reconcile us to God, but also to reconcile and unite us with each other across divisions or borders.
More importantly, stories of migration teach us about God’s character. God is a God of creativity and unity. In order to see all aspects of who God is, we need to interact with the diversity of people and cultures that God created, treating each other with equity and finding unity across differences. When we look at the world through a new lens, we learn new things about God. We learn to trust God in new ways. When we leave our homes and families to travel to an unfamiliar place, we do so in faith, trusting God’s provision.

When we love immigrant people, we see harmful and unjust systems and laws through their eyes. Together, we expose injustices and make clear God’s heart for justice. We show God’s vision for a better world, where just systems and communities ensure that vulnerable people are not exploited but are given special care and allowed to flourish.
More importantly, stories of migration teach us about God’s character. God is a God of creativity and unity. In order to see all aspects of who God is, we need to interact with the diversity of people and cultures that God created, treating each other with equity and finding unity across differences. When we look at the world through a new lens, we learn new things about God. We learn to trust God in new ways. When we leave our homes and families to travel to an unfamiliar place, we do so in faith, trusting God’s provision.

When we love immigrant people, we see harmful and unjust systems and laws through their eyes. Together, we expose injustices and make clear God’s heart for justice. We show God’s vision for a better world, where just systems and communities ensure that vulnerable people are not exploited but are given special care and allowed to flourish.

God’s Divine Ownership of the Land

God is the owner of the land but also miraculously chose to become God With Us as a migrant. God is aware of the vulnerability, risk, and exposure of the migrant experience. God also chooses to remain present during this experience as Immanuel with all who call on the name of Jesus. As a result, God compels Christian partnership with the sojourner and teaches us how to steward the land.

Lutheran theologian Munther Isaac intricately describes God’s relationship with the lands of the earth in his dissertation and recent book, The Other Side of the Wall. Isaac asserts that the Yawhistic treatment of the lands reflects a unique authority. Christians, therefore, are called to remember this divine ownership and ask the Lord for wisdom on how to steward the lands with God’s justice and righteousness.

For those who do not maintain this holy covenant with God, there are consequences. Ill treatment of God and God’s neighbor will impact the health of the land. Christians are called to consider how to live on the land in our countries in a way that reflects our covenant with God and the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.  

A History of Migrant Exclusion

Even as fully beloved people of God, migrants have long faced prejudice and exclusion. After the European Thirty Years’ War in the seventeenth century, the Peace of Westphalia created sovereign states, further concretizing borders between nations. Consequent wars, usurpation of lands, and reinforcement of national identities resulted in even more stringent ideas about borders. They serve to protect, to maintain sovereignty, and, more insidiously, to maintain ethnic and cultural purity of lands.

In the United States, the Naturalization Act of 1790 restricted naturalization to free white men of “good moral character” who had lived on the land for at least two years. Forty years later, the Indian Removal Act confiscated Native lands west of the Mississippi, displacing millions within indigenous communities. In the nineteenth century the Marshall Trilogy, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, and the Chinese Exclusion Act essentially treated Native, Mexican, and Chinese peoples, respectively, as unwelcome strangers. In 1894, three Harvard graduates founded the Immigration Restriction League to limit migration from southern and eastern Europe. Over the course of the twentieth century, immigration laws would continue to impose limits and quotas on particular countries.[1] Christians are called to consider how to live on the land in our countries in a way that reflects our covenant with God and the commandment to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Every nation has the right to envision their own immigration system. But we must ask: are our nation’s policies congruent with our call to love God and neighbor?

The current US system supplies a limited number of visas to countries without special attention to those experiencing extreme hardship, such as poverty, hunger, and political turmoil. Out of desperation, many migrants choose to cross the US border from Mexico through the desert. The US Border Patrol reports that more than 7,000 migrants have died along the US-Mexico border between 1998-2020, with 2020 being the deadliest year on record. Today, detention centers near the Texas border housing unauthorized migrant children are being investigated for sexual abuse, assault, and neglect.  

Christians living in the United States are required to answer for how we are stewarding these lands and showing kindness to the strangers among us.

Implications from God’s Covenant

Deuteronomy 4:5-8 indicates that, as Israel observed Yawheh’s laws and covenant, other nations would take note and consider the Lord as a God who is present and near. Isaiah 10:1-2 warns against nations that make unjust laws. The biblical narrative is filled with the Lord’s love for people and desire for all to know this intimate covenant of belonging.

Christians are called to remember the Lord’s covenant with us and to act in line with God’s justice and shalom (Mic. 6:8). But this call might raise biases, fears, and questions about how to welcome migrants. Perhaps we are hesitant to embrace migrants because of their authorization status. Maybe we simply do not know where to begin, or we have been taught that our borders will be compromised if we welcome in migrants.

There are complex push-and-pull factors involved in migration. But the current legal process of entering the United States is virtually impossible for extremely vulnerable migrants fleeing persecution, abuse, or food insecurity. This process can take up to ten years or longer. The current legal process of entering the United States is virtually impossible for extremely vulnerable migrants fleeing persecution, abuse, or food insecurity.

Work through your concerns, but know that Scripture is clear on what the Lord requires. Migrants are protected from oppression (Ex. 22:21, Lev. 19:33-34), ought to be provided with food and shelter (Lev. 19:9-10), and have the right to worship God (Num. 15:14-16).

If you are unfamiliar with migration issues, learn about the history of migration in your own family and in your city and state. Unless you are an indigenous person who can trace your family to one location for generations, there is a high likelihood that you are part of a migrant history.

Implications from the Early Church

Acts 6 presents several possibilities for just policies. As the early church grew across cultures, Jewish Christian leaders sought to live justly. They enacted a system of provision for the widows among them. But Hellenistic (Greek) Christian widows were being overlooked. After discernment, the Apostles agreed to have the Hellenists select seven of their own leaders to oversee food distribution to their widows. These leaders were then publicly commissioned by the Apostles.

From this account, we see that migrants need representation. Acts 6:1 notes that the Hellenists complained about the neglect of their widows. For communities to thrive, they need representation and a system of voicing concerns.

When US politicians publicly discuss immigration policy, some focus on the problems rather than the dignity of the individuals. They listen to their current constituents but do not hear the stories of those who greatly desire to be their constituents. Thus, the voice of our migrant neighbors is not always heard.

One way of seeking just and humane policies for migrants is to ask for their input. What do they need from their community? From their politicians?

Another way is to volunteer at an immigration resource center. Many nonprofit organizations speak with and on behalf of individuals seeking authorized residence, representing them with the inherent dignity they deserve. There are also opportunities to go and see detention centers, border shelters, and unmarked graves in the desert, to hear and then share the stories of our migrant neighbors.

Just as the Hellenists raised their voice to change an unjust system, migrants have agency to raise our voices, directly and indirectly, publicly and anonymously. Revealing the harmful treatment of migrants in detention centers and at the hands of ICE officials brings attention to the suffering of our migrant neighbors. This task is not for journalists alone but also for Christians called to show hospitality to the sojourner. Migrants have agency to raise our voices, directly and indirectly, publicly and anonymously.

Like the Acts 6 community, who devoted themselves to the teaching of the word of God and embodying just practices, you can ask your church leadership how they are embodying justice for the migrant. Ask if they are familiar with God’s care for and identification with migrants. If not, that is an important place to start. If they already know God’s teachings, then partner with your church in a justice ministry that shows hospitality to the migrants in your community.

A person’s dignity is not a right that can be taken away. It is a gift from the Lord that is inherently, always present in someone. Nations have the right to borders, but Christians should consider and address any inhumane actions against migrants among us. Remember that the Lord owns our lands and calls us to steward the lands with love and care. Faithful stewardship of the land is deeply intertwined with the actions and policies we choose to pursue the dignity of our migrant neighbors.

_{1 See White By Law , the 1965 Johnson Hart-Cellar Act, the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, and the 2002 creation of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.}