While in Austin we stayed with our eldest kid in her new house, and were there over a Sunday, so went to her church as well. A guest pastor was preaching that day and the message was on the refugee and the Biblical case for compassion for, and acceptance of, them. Here are the particular Scripture passages invoked in that message:
The Refugee
Psalms 46:1 ESV
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
http://bible.com/59/psa.46.1.
Psalms 59:16 ESV
But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress.
http://bible.com/59/psa.59.16.
Psalms 68:5-6 ESV
Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation. God settles the solitary in a home; he leads out the prisoners to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.
http://bible.com/59/psa.68.5-
Psalms 91:4 ESV
He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
http://bible.com/59/psa.91.4.
Leviticus 19:33-34 ESV
"When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
http://bible.com/59/lev.19.33-
Deuteronomy 10:17-19 ESV
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of Lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.
http://bible.com/59/deu.10.17-
Hebrews 13:1-3 ESV
Let brotherly love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.
http://bible.com/59/heb.13.1-
Galatians 5:14 ESV
For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
http://bible.com/59/gal.5.14.
Acts 17:26-27 ESV
And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
http://bible.com/59/act.17.26-
Now, a statement and a question. Every Scripture used to urge compassion and acceptance toward refugees has an underlying assumption - that the refugee's motives are benign. What if they are not?
The parallel is made in many passages to the Israelite nation being captives in Egypt (or in Babylon). Israel's motives were benign - they had no intent to undermine that government or to infiltrate the culture in order to do harm.
Because of this core assumption, the Scripture says nothing about how to treat an alien or stranger in your land whose intent is to cause harm. (i.e. sent by a hostile government or a terrorist or a criminal organization). The only example of an immigration policy decision in the Bible that is even close to such a situation is in Joshua chapter 9, and the result was not compassion and acceptance.
One has only to look at Europe to find instances of immigrants intending to cause harm. It seems to me that we need an immigration process which is like the Ellis Island approach we used to have: no one is admitted unless then can demonstrate that they have 1) a month's wages on them, 2) a relative already in the USA to vouch for them, and 3) a job offer. Those requirements alone, plus a 30 day quarantine period to give time for background checks, would eliminate most of the risk that anyone with malicious intent would make it into the US.
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