Texas Southern Baptists and immigration reform

I agree with the efforts of the Evangelical Immigration Table (evangelicalimmigrationtable.com) to encourage bipartisan action on immigration reform. The EIT has lined out six principles that I take to be non-negotiables in whatever legislation may be put forth. These principles include respect for the God-given dignity of every person, the unity of the immediate family, the rule of law, secure national borders and fairness to taxpayers. This effort of the National Association of Evangelicals has drawn a wide selection of supporters and has invested close to $1 million in targeted congressional districts around the country.

A survey of SBTC and SBC resolutions in 2006 and 2011 would seem to indicate that Southern Baptists broadly agree with the six principles of the EIT. Our resolutions specifically hit all but two of the six and by implication hit the second and last principles. In fact, this is one of those rare places where we agree with a majority of our fellow citizens.

Here’s what is puzzling. The EIT is spending big bucks in Texas and other states partly because, a) they think this will be a difficult push in the U.S. House of Representatives, and b) conservatives, even religious conservatives, are the biggest obstacle to passage of any realistic reform. To this I answer:

This need not be a conservative/liberal issue. Between the extremes of “no border regulation” and “bus millions home” is a huge number of people who would like to support a sane immigration policy that the U.S. government is committed to implement and enforce. The fact that some liberals have signed on to the EIT plan doesn’t mean conservatives should run; these liberals have affirmed the priority of border and security and the rule of law. That’s good news.

Our nation should be ashamed of having done so little and having done it so inconsistently over the past decades. Doing nothing, which is the actual alternative to embracing the EIT’s six principles, is self-destructive and cruel. It also means that many things will get worse for all who live in our country.

If politics in our country are so polarized that the majority cannot influence their elected representatives then conservative Christians must disengage (at least on this issue) from those who cannot see the negative impact of the status quo in clear enough light to support something better, even if they must compromise.

Our Southern Baptist Convention resolution from 2011 even goes further than the EIT principles explicitly go. Our resolution, while disavowing amnesty, does endorse “a just and compassionate path to legal status, with appropriate restitutionary measures.” Though this is implied in the EIT principles and should be understood as a necessary part of any true reform, Southern Baptists, the conservative wing of evangelicalism, saw the necessity of reform that will deal compassionately with those who are already deeply rooted in our society. I recognize that our resolutions only represent the thousands who attend a particular annual meeting but these thousands are a high concentration of denominational leaders. It’s not reasonable to suggest that they do not largely represent the opinions of our millions of Southern Baptists.

Can we not see a way forward in these principles our national and state conventions have generally endorsed? I think it is possible if we can avoid falling into the abyss of partisan politics. Here’s what that might look like.

Let’s try to know what we’re talking about: Harsh as that sounds, I’ve had more than one conversation on this issue with those who have not read the article they are criticizing. As I walked these friends through the actual column or article, their opposition faded a bit. Of course that does not mean that all who disagree with me on reform are ignorant, but the fact is we do often get excited about things before we know the details.

Consider who we are talking about: I don’t favor our cultural trend of basing every argument on sentiment but our neighbors are in fact the issue. It’s easier to deal with immigration issues if you don’t think of that person in your church or that family that could be split by some ill-considered response to our immigration crisis. Perhaps you should have a conversation with someone of Mexican heritage. I guarantee the issue is personal to that person or someone he loves, and it should be somewhat personal to all of us.

Accept that compromise is inevitable: Our immigration policies and enforcement have proven inadequate to the need of our time. Mere enforcement of current laws is not realistic and will have consequences beyond our imagining. As I read the EIT principles I see apparently contradictory imperatives—this is a document hammered out by those who compromised some ideals. At this point our nation needs something better and workable, not something perfect. Unwillingness to compromise will result in delay. Eventually we’ll have to do something far more distasteful than compromise. Our choices this year are much superior to those we’ll face five years from now. The compromises we have to make now are less painful than the ones that will be forced on us by a deepening immigration crisis.

I know that people with whom I have great accord on other issues disagree with me on this. That’s OK with me if it is something they can bear. I also see that some with whom I have few convictions in common are working for immigration reform. Those are irrelevant and distracting observations. For millions, even tens of millions in our nation, the status quo is a matter of great frustration and anxiety—one that threatens even the integrity of their families. It’s impossible for me to see that doing nothing in favor of waiting for a perfect solution will serve our nation or our neighbors in any godly way.

Correspondent
Gary Ledbetter
Southern Baptist Texan
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