NORMAN, Okla. (ABP) — Baptists cannot deal with immigration biblically and ethically until they understand a basic stewardship principle: everything — including the privilege of living in a particular country — is a gift from God, said a panelist in a luncheon discussion held in conjunction with the New Baptist Covenant regional meeting in Norman, Okla.
"It all belongs to the Lord," said Javier Elizondo, executive vice president and provost at Baptist University of the Americas. "Democratic capitalism can flourish only when there is a consciousness of whom everything belongs to."
Elizondo said many Americans need the same reminder the nation of Israel required after they left bondage in Egypt and entered the Promised Land.
"Do not oppress the alien, because your ancestors were immigrants and aliens," he said.
Another panelist said Christians need to change their vocabulary when discussing volatile issues surrounding immigration.
"When we talk about 'us and them,' we are on the wrong side of the gospel," said Tom Ogburn, pastor of First Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. "It's not about 'us and them.' It's about us."
"We need to move past the language of marginalization to the language of inclusion," Ogburn said.
Richard Muñoz, director of the Immigration Service and Aid Center (ISAAC) program jointly sponsored by the Baptist General Convention of Texas and Buckner Children & Family Services, said Christians can faithfully observe both the New Testament mandates to obey legal authority and to welcome the stranger.
"I don't believe Romans 13 and Hebrews 13 are mutually contradictory," he said.
Muñoz, an attorney, said most undocumented immigrants in the United States entered the country legally but did not return home when their temporary visas expired. "We are trying to help immigrants comply with the law — not break it," he said.
Suzii Paynter, director of the BGCT Christian Life Commission, told the audience to expect a cluster of immigration-related legislation to be introduced at the national level when Congress returns to work after an August recess.
She reported that Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Senate Immigration Subcommittee, recently outlined seven principles that will form the basis for legislation he plans to introduce. They are:
— Illegal immigration is wrong, and the goal of comprehensive immigration reform must be to curtail future illegal immigration.
— Operational control of the borders through increases in infrastructure, technology and border personnel must be achieved within one year of enactment of legislation.
— A biometric-based employer e-verification system with tough enforcement and auditing is needed to discourage illegal aliens and provide a certain and simple approach for employers.
— Currently undocumented aliens living in the U.S. when legislation is enacted either must quickly register with the government and submit to a rigorous process of converting to legal status and earning a path to citizenship or face deportation.
— Family reunification should be a cornerstone value of the immigration system.
— Encourage the best and brightest to come to the U.S. as immigrants and create new technologies and businesses that will employ American workers, but discourage businesses from using immigration laws as a way to obtain temporary and less-expensive foreign labor to replace American workers.
— Create a system that converts the current flow of unskilled illegal immigrants into the U.S. into a more manageable and controlled flow of legal immigrants who can be absorbed by our economy.
Paynter pointedly underscored an observation made earlier by Ogburn, that too often "conversations about immigration and about race become the same conversation."
When Paynter arrived in Norman, she said she picked up a packet someone anonymously had left for her at the registration desk. The envelope was filled with materials supporting white supremacy.
Paynter said some of the debate about immigration issues is colored by "a real fear of the loss of power and privilege."
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Ken Camp is managing editor of the Baptist Standard.