WASHINGTON - Religious leaders and lawmakers traded Scripture passages Wednesday at a congressional hearing on whether there's an ethical imperative to overhaul the nation's immigration laws.
Arguing for a comprehensive immigration package with a guest-worker program, Richard Land, the president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, quoted from Matthew, Leviticus and Micah in pressing for action on the estimated 11 million illegal immigrants currently living in the U.S.
Southern Baptists respect and strongly support upholding America's laws, he said, but they "also recognize a biblical mandate to care for 'the least of these among us' (Matthew 25:34-40), to care for the ' strangers' who reside in our land (Leviticus 19:34; Hebrews 13:2) and to act justly and mercifully (Micah 6:8)," Land told the House Judiciary subcommittee on immigration, citizenship, refugees, border security and international law.
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Opponents of a comprehensive immigration overhaul came to the hearing with biblical passages of their own.
Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, read a quote from Romans 13:1-7 that crystallized the argument for enhanced border security and strict enforcement of existing federal immigration laws: "Let every person be subject to governing authorities."
"I suspect we will hear today that it is somehow immoral or unethical to enforce our nation's laws, and that we should ignore our laws," Smith said. "For those who want to take this approach, there is just one problem: the Bible contains numerous passages that support the rule of law."
While both sides argued, they agreed on at least two things: that the nation's immigration system is broken and that the federal government has abdicated its responsibility over the years by not seriously addressing the issue.
"The crisis the country is witnessing in Arizona over immigration is the result of a failed immigration policy at the federal level," said Mathew Staver, dean of the Liberty University School of Law and a supporter of comprehensive immigration legislation. "The Arizona law is a symptom and a cry for help. However, the Constitution places the responsibility for immigration on the federal government, not the states."
