Evangelicals and Catholics share tensions on immigration

Year after year, the World Day of Migrants and Refugees includes a Vatican sermon with the pope quoting the words of Jesus, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me,” or similar messages from Scripture.

“We are called to show maximum respect for the dignity of each migrant; this entails accompanying and managing waves of migration as best we can,” said Pope Francis in 2023. “In whatever place we decide to build our future, in the country of our birth or elsewhere, the important thing is that there always be a community ready to welcome, protect, promote and integrate everyone, without distinctions and without excluding anyone.”

That's half of the Catholic equation on this hotbutton issue in North America and around the world. But there is also an authoritative doctrinal word of caution.

The Catholic Catechism teaches: “The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. … Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions. … Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.”

There is no way to eliminate this tension, noted David P. Deavel, who leads the theology department at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

“There is no formula in Catholic social principles for how this is supposed to get done, in terms of politics or public life,” he said, reached by telephone. In Catholic doctrine, there is “certainly an obligation to allow immigration and to help immigrants. But there is no obligation to take in everyone under every circumstance.”

It's significant that similar tensions surface in a new Lifeway Research study of American Evangelical views on immigration, including questions raised by Office of Homeland Security claims that there have been at least 6.3 million migrant encounters along the U.S. southern border during President Joe Biden's administration. Officials believe 2.4 million migrants have entered the country during this time, while critics insist the number is closer to 10 million.

The bottom line: Evangelicals want Congress “to act this year to improve laws around immigration.” Other survey findings include:

• Half of those polled believe the new wave of immigrants will be “a drain on economic resources,” and 37 percent said it poses a threat to “law and order” as well as to public safety. But 39 percent saw immigration numbers as an opportunity to show Christian compassion, and 82 percent said they would welcome sermons that applied “biblical principles” to immigration issues.

• Concerning legal immigration, around 60 percent said current numbers are appropriate, with 23 percent backing an annual increase and 21 percent calling for a decrease. There was near universal support (93 percent) for legislation that “respects the rule of law,” promises “fairness to taxpayers” (93 percent) and “respects the God-given dignity of every person” (91 percent).

• A large majority (71 percent) said “the U.S. has a moral responsibility to accept refugees,” especially those fleeing persecution (72 percent). Just over half (55 percent) said “Christians have a responsibility to assist immigrants” even if here illegally.

• Meanwhile, 78 percent said they would support new immigration laws that “increase border security and establish a process for those who are currently in the U.S. illegally to earn legal status and apply for citizenship if they pay a fine, pass a criminal background check and complete other requirements” during a probation period.

• Finally, 80 percent said they would back bipartisan legislation that “strengthens border security” and offers a “pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children,” often called “Dreamers.”

It's clear that both American Evangelicals and Catholics “feel compelled to show compassion” on immigration questions, said Deavel. “They know there are people who urgently need help and that the church cannot ignore that.

“They don't want to be unkind, but they don't think that the enforcement of America's laws is unkind and unjust. … They also think Congress is where compassionate immigration laws are supposed to come from. The hard question is whether our political system can, at this moment in time, produce laws that religious believers can support.”

Terry Mattingly leads GetReligion.org and lives in Oak Ridge, Tenn. He is a senior fellow at the Overby Center at the University of Mississippi.