Is the Immigration Issue a Christian Issue

By Bishop Andy C. Lewter, D. Min.

On April 23, 2010, the state of Arizona passed its Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act launching a firestorm of controversy as the strictest anti-illegal immigration measure in years.

Immediately, a debate ensued over whether the actions by the state of Arizona, who came under enormous pressure years ago when it refused to acknowledge a Martin Luther King Birthday Holiday, was forcing the federal government to take action.

While political pundits and public officials are debating the pros and cons of the issue, members of the church community are finding themselves in the position of having to examine to what extent this controversy impacts the faith community.

A variety of Christian voices have registered their concern that the bill might serve as a prelude to racial profiling and an unnecessary harassment of hispanic people who living  in the state.

Rev. Jesse Jackson appeared on MSNBC recently and pointed out the inconsistency of having one set of rules for Canadians who come south and Mexicans who travel north to the state.  He further pointed out that the bill itself stands in conflict with the US Constitution.

Rev. Al Sharpton, along with a  host of other Christian leaders have compared the actions of Arizona with that of Apartheid, Nazi Germany and the Jim Crow south.  “We will bring Freedom Walkers to Arizona just like Freedom Riders went to the deep south 50 years ago,” Sharpton vowed.

Christians are caught between feeling that the rejection, or at the very least the restriction, of Hispanic immigrants coming into the country will increase jobs and reduce crimes with a sensitivity that any mistreatment of people because of the color of their skin is a return to a social and moral battle that the church had fought and won over forty years ago.

Dr. Warren Stewart is the pastor of the First Institutional Baptist Church of Phoenix, AZ and is a local voice on the scene that continues to speak truth to power.  “When I speak on the topic of Immigration Reform, I do not get the resounding amens that I do when I speak on more traditional topics that are more religious in nature” says Dr. Stewart.

Reminding the faith community that Jesus instructed his disciples that the true measure of Christianity would be evaluated by the integrity of love that is demonstrated by his followers toward others, the church today finds itself in a tug of war that involve emotions and ethnic sensitivities.

Dr. Stewart sees the issues of immigration reform and the current controversy regarding the recently passed bill in the state of Arizona as an opportunity to unite blacks and Latinos in the tradition of Christianity at its best.

Stewart fears that the new Arizona law will lead to abuse and exploitation that will prove to be a shadowed embarrassment to the country and to the church.  Stewart and others in the pro-immigration movement, believe that African-Americans will be reminded of their own struggles with racial profiling and will object to the idea of another group of Americans being subject to the similar treatment under the law.

According to Stewart, the new law has already attracted more African-American opponents to the fight for immigration reform.  “Our noted African-American civil rights leaders have really not embraced it,” said Stewart. “They’re just now coming on board.” reports Stewart.

While acknowledging that the church and the Black community are less than enthusiastic right now, he is convinced that it will take many more sermons preached by courageous pastors to win over the country and the church.