WASHINGTON (ABP) — Albert Reyes, president of the Baptist University of the Americas Texas and immediate past president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, believes the current immigration reform debate should be informed for Christians primarily by one question: Does Jesus still have a mission to the poor and the oppressed?
Reyes, the grandson of an undocumented immigrant and a migrant worker, believes ministry to the poor and oppressed was at the heart of what Christ stood for.
“The last time I checked my Bible, Jesus announced his agenda to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim freedom for those in prison, to give sight to the blind and liberty to the oppressed,” he stated in a paper released in conjunction with a Capitol Hill news conference on immigration reform.
“In fact, my Bible also tells me that Jesus was an international refugee within the first year of his life. His father and mother took him from Bethlehem to Egypt to flee infanticide as well as political and religious oppression.”
In recent years, the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and BGCT each have passed resolutions to encourage ministry to illegal immigrants. A BGCT Hispanic Immigration Task Force is examining immigration issues and trying to raise awareness of the situation.
“The core issue at the center of the immigration reform debate is justice,” Reyes said. “Where is our American sense of decency, the value of basic human rights, our love for children and families and fairness toward under-privileged newcomers?”
Reyes quoted statistics showing that 417 notices of intent to fine were issued to businesses that employed undocumented workers in 1999. That number fell to 100 in 2001 and was at three in 2004.
“Christians must ask the justice question: Is it right for the United States of America to continue to operate a dysfunctional border policy that criminalizes under-privileged and undocumented immigrants seeking to earn a living to provide basic subsistence to their family while allowing American businesses to employ these workers at lower wages?” he asked. “We tend to enforce the law on those that may not break the law purposefully, and we have a track record of rewarding those who ignore the law to generate wider profit margins.”
The immigration issue requires Christians to study the topic logically and biblically, Reyes wrote. Then they can make an informed decision.
“We need to open our eyes to the reality of this situation, open our Bibles to read about Jesus' agenda before we articulate our convictions, and open our hearts to the Jesus that placed the poor, the prisoner, the blind, and the oppressed at the center of his mission,” he concluded.
“To argue compliance with current U.S. immigration law while ignoring the agenda of Jesus is myopic, self-serving and legalistic. I love the United States of America and her laws. My question is to those with an eternal perspective: Isn't it time our laws reflect the agenda of Jesus? Protect our borders? Absolutely! Mistreat the poor? Absolutely not!”
-30-