The evangelical solution: Just Integration Strategy for immigration reform

Somewhere between Arizona and amnesty lies the answer to America’s immigration crisis. Once again, as we have experienced throughout the development of the American idea, the faith community emerges as the prophetic witness of a solution that reconciles the rule of law with compassion for the suffering. From the abolitionist movement of the 1800s to the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, the faith community arises in our generation to address our current polarizing issue, immigration reform. On this occasion, evangelicals stand poised to present a strategy that the vast majority of Americans can embrace, a Just Integration Strategy.

First, Arizona’s anti-immigration law creates an atmosphere that facilitates a platform for demagoguery while simultaneously attracting xenophobic and nativist supporters. Republicans must vociferously rebuke the Arizona law in a manner that will engage the Latino electorate, or otherwise suffer the consequences of alienating the nation’s largest minority community.

Conservatives may acquire short-term gains in Congress by galvanizing white voters via the conduit of support for Arizona and opposition to immigration reform, but at the end of the day it is demographically and strategically impossible to win the White House without the Hispanic vote. In other words, by standing today as the staunchest opponents to immigration reform, the GOP sacrifices long term viability on the altar of short term expediency.

Conversely, the idea of amnesty undermines our nation’s security, dilutes our sovereign right to protect our borders and conveys a message of utter disrespect for the rule of law. While deportation of 12 million individuals is not practical, a Just Integration Strategy requires the identification and deportation of serious criminals while providing a pathway to integration for those hard working individuals that commit and demonstrate proficiency in the English vernacular. In addition, integration requires admonition of guilt, payment of fines and demonstration of financial sustainability.

For at the end of the day, immigration reform is a matter of faith — faith that America will do what is right, faith that our nation can once again come together, and faith that the words on the Statue of Liberty still ring with authenticity and hope.

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"