Immigration and the Bible
Q: Does the Bible have any opinion on immigration and immigrants?
A: 25 Bible passages show a strong opinion on immigrants -- usually referred to as "the alien" or "the stranger."
Leviticus 19:34
The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you ...
1. Exodus 12:49
There shall be one law for the native and for the alien who resides among you.
2. Exodus 22:21
You shall not wrong or oppress a resident alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
3. Exodus 23:9
You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.
4. Leviticus 19:9-10
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest. You shall not strip your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen grapes of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the alien: I am the Lord your God.
5. Leviticus 19:33-34
When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
6. Leviticus 23:22
When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and for the alien: I am the Lord your God.
7. Deuteronomy 10:17-18
For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who is not partial and takes no bribe, who executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and who loves the strangers, providing them with food and clothing.
8. Deuteronomy 14:28-29
Every third year you shall bring out the full tithe of your produce for that year, and store it within your towns; the Levites, because they have no allotment or inheritance with you, as well as the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows in your towns, may come and eat their fill so that the Lord your God may bless you.
9. Deuteronomy 24:14-15
You shall not withhold the wages of poor and needy laborers, whether other Israelites or aliens who reside in your land in one of your towns. You shall pay them their wages daily before sunset, because they are poor and their livelihood depends on them; otherwise they might cry to the Lord against you, and you would incur guilt.
10. Deuteronomy 24:17-21
You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge. ... When you reap your harvest in your field and forget a sheaf in the field, you shall not go back to get it; it shall be left for the alien, the orphan, and the widow, so that the Lord your God may bless you in all your undertakings. When you beat your olive trees, do not strip what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow.
11. Deuteronomy 26:12-13
When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year (which is the year of the tithe), giving it to the Levites, the aliens, the orphans, and the widows, so that they may eat their fill within your towns, then you shall say before the Lord your God: “I have removed the sacred portion from the house, and I have given it to the Levites, the resident aliens, the orphans, and the widows, in accordance with your entire commandment that you commanded me; I have neither transgressed nor forgotten any of your commandments ...”
12. Deuteronomy 27:19
“Cursed be anyone who deprives the alien, the orphan, and the widow of justice.” All the people shall say, “Amen!”
13. Job 29:16
I was a father to the needy, and I championed the cause of the stranger.
14. Psalm 94:3,6
O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult? ... They kill the widow and the stranger, they murder the orphan ...
15. Psalm 146:9
The Lord watches over the strangers; he upholds the orphan and the widow, but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
16. Ezekiel 22:7
Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the alien residing within suffers extortion; the orphan and the widow are wronged in you.
17. Ezekiel 22:29
The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery; they have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the alien without redress.
18. Isaiah 16:3-4
hide the outcasts, do not betray the fugitive; let the outcasts of Moab settle among you; be a refuge to them from the destroyer.
19. Jeremiah 7:6-7
If you do not oppress the alien, the orphan, and the widow ... then I will dwell with you in this place ...
20. Malachi 3:5
Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.
21. Zechariah 7:10
do not oppress the widow, the orphan, the alien, or the poor; and do not devise evil in your hearts against one another.
22. Matthew 25:34-35
[Jesus says] "Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me ... "
23. Matthew 25:41-43 [For the whole passage, read Matthew 25:31-46.]
[Jesus says] "You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me ..."
24. (The alien as hero) Luke 10:33-35
[Jesus says] “But a Samaritan while traveling came near him; and when he saw the wounded merchant he was moved with pity. He bandaged his wounds, having poured oil and wine on them. Then he put him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said, ‘Take care of him; and when I come back, I will repay you whatever more you spend.’”
25. Romans 12:13
Contribute to the needs of the saints; extend hospitality to strangers.