Illegal Immigration

     

                Unless you live in Amish country or don’t tune in to news on a somewhat regular basis then you know about the millions of illegal immigrants pouring into our country. About a month ago, the President gave amnesty to approximately 1,000,000 illegal immigrants. When I was younger, immigration was a big joke to me. In the summer of 2005 my family and I took a trip to South Padre Island, Texas. While we were visiting, we decided to take a trip into Mexico. While walking past customs and border patrol over the bridge we saw about five Mexicans backstroking across the Rio Grande River. You may think I’m making a joke or telling a lie. But I’m not. We stopped on the bridge and were just looking down at the river when we saw the Mexicans swimming and climbing onto United States soil. They saw us watching, and they must’ve had a guilty conscience because they proceeded to shout up at us, “This is just a hobby of ours! We no cross border!” I laughed. After all, I was only twelve. But that opened my eyes to realize that immigration is a major and controversial issue.

               

                To date, there are well over 11,000,000 illegal immigrants that we know of. Imagine how many more there are that are in hiding and we don’t know about. I’d like to remind you not to just focus on Latino immigrants because a lot of these immigrants are also of Asian, European, and Canadian descent. These aliens hurt the country and the taxpayer. There is an estimated $113 billion drain on American taxpayers annually. Our funds are going to pay for their healthcare and education. They are given permanent jobs while many Americans are forced into welfare and unemployment or trying to get money out on the streets. This in turn leads to more crime because poverty is increased. Also, many businesses that refuse to put illegals to work are put out of business because they can’t compete with the cheap rates of other businesses. Illegals accept lower wages and harsh work condition and American workers suffer because of that. They are required to take pay cuts and poor work environments.

                So what am I getting at? Why should we allow illegal immigrants into our country if God doesn’t allow illegals in Heaven? That’s right: You must have the right documentation to get into Heaven.

                Some people have the wrong idea that there is a welcoming committee once they pass away from this life. That’s a falsity. First, we are to wait in a holding place until Christ’s second coming (Luke 16:22-24). Then we are to face judgment before God.

“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before

the throne, and books were opened. Another

book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead

were judged according to what they had done as

recorded in the books.”

-Revelation 20:12

                So, you think you’ll enter Heaven just because you do good deeds or feel you have good morals? Wrong. For it is not by good deeds that you are saved but by faith. You can’t just read the bible. You have to act it out in your life (James 1:22-24). How do we know God does not allow illegals into Heaven? Revelation 21 tells us so.

“On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there

will be no night there. The glory and

honor of the nations will be brought unto it.

Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will

anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but

only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”

-Revelations 21:25-26

                Our robes must be washed clean by the blood of Christ. How do we get our name in the Lamb’s book of life? By inviting Christ into our life and doing God’s will. That is, we must declare Christ as our savior. How can We relate this to our immigration problem here in America? Immigrants must go through customs to be declared a citizen! They must go through a background check (much like God’s judgment) and then receive verification and forms. What is the verification we receive in Heaven? A white robe. It signifies our righteousness and place in Heaven.

                How is the kingdom of Heaven protected? There are pearly gates and high walls. A person can’t climb over the walls of Heaven or slip through the gates unnoticed. There are angels constantly keeping watch. We too must keep a constant watch and increase our border patrol. God doesn’t play favorites or base a person’s admittance on skin color or nationality. So why do we play favorites to people just based on skin color and give them amnesty? We are no less compassionate or ungodly if we deny access to our country. How do we know this? There are certain laws that were set in place years ago that forbid illegal immigrants from remaining in the country. Therefore, if someone doesn’t get granted citizenship then they are breaking a law. And God despises law breaking.

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority

instituted among men: whether to the king, as the

supreme authority, or to the governors, who are sent by him to

punish those who do wrong and to commend those

who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing

good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men.

Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as

a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God.”

-1 Peter 2:1-16

                This brings me to another situation. The governor of Arizona wanted to put new laws into effect to increase border protection. Arizona wanted to make it a crime for an illegal to obtain a job and to make warrantless arrests for those suspected to be deportable. These laws were rejected. Another issue? The Department of Homeland Security is only focusing on those illegal immigrants who have criminal records while halting those who have no record. Why is this an issue? Because the majority of illegals don’t pay taxes! This hurts our country. We keep putting out money for the benefits of the immigrants while there is an increase in our national debt. We are supposed to pay taxes and while CEOs and politicians are being targeted for tax evasion, these immigrants get away with residing here and not paying a red penny.

“This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities

are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.

Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe

taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue;

if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.”

-Romans 13:6-7

                I just want to let you know, this doesn't make me an uncompassionate person. I don't hate illegal immigrants nor will I treat them any differently than a natural born citizen. I just want to point out that what is happening is wrong. But I will continue to keep this nation and these controversial issues in my prayers. 

                It really is a kick in the teeth to those who came legally, for the illegals to be handed rights. Everyone else did their job to become legal. All of our families somewhere down the line were immigrants. The thing is though they came legally and went through the process. American rights are for Americans and that’s the great thing about our country. Everyone has that right as long as they become a citizen. Asking them to become naturalized is in no way the same thing as kicking them out. They have the choice to become naturalized or leave. We need to stand firm in this or continue to look like a weak nation.

                Everyone says that illegals do the jobs that no Americans want to do. Were legal citizens given the choice to do those jobs, or is everyone just assuming no one wants to? Just because some people won’t do the jobs doesn’t mean someone else won’t who’s in desperate need of a job. On the other hand maybe it's the lower pay they'll settle for that we can't live on, which I guess would be the fault of whoever decides the salary combined with whether or not they're actually living here versus using the money across the border somehow. Most illegals send their money back to families across borders which hurt our economy. If we give these jobs to American citizens who are on unemployment or welfare than we will once again be a prosperous country!

                We need to bring our concerns over this topic to our state legislature. We are constantly keeping our mouths shut when we need to have our voices be heard. Bring God back into the country and we will again be a great nation full of prosperity. Ronald Reagan once said, “If we ever forget that we are one nation under God, then we will be one nation gone under.” Where do you want America to head?