Pandemic Politics and the Plight of Immigrants

A friend of mine recently told me that her dad always considered the United States the greatest country on earth. It was the land of the free, the home of the brave, and a place many immigrants longed to come to in search of a better life. For nearly the first 150 years of our existence as a nation, all were welcome. While sailing for the New World back in 1630, John Winthrop said that the eyes of the world would always be upon America and 'that we shall be as a city upon a hill....' Those words were repeated by John F. Kennedy shortly before his inauguration in 1961 and 28 years later by President Ronald Reagan in his farewell address to the nation he loved.


The reference to a 'city on a hill' is biblical and found in Matthew chapter 5:14-16. It reads as follows:

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

The purpose of this passage is to show the world the good works we do and let them give glory to God because of them. Now is the time for Christians in America and elsewhere to live up to these words and let their light shine before men. Now is the time for America to be that shining city set upon a hill. From the way we respond to the Coronavirus Pandemic to the way we treat the immigrants in our midst, all that we do reflects on our profession of faith and what those who are watching think about our God. 

The Bible has a lot to say about how we are to treat foreigners and immigrants. Here are just a few:

Leviticus 19:33-34
When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

Hebrews 13:2
Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

How are we doing in this regard? Are we living up to our responsibilities as a nation? As a church? As individual Christians? The plight of immigrants, both documented and undocumented, has been much in the news lately because many of them have disproportionately borne the brunt of the economic fallout due to the pandemic. As I have mentioned before, many immigrants are employed in low-wage jobs in the hospitality industry, fast-food restaurants, as custodial workers, and on farms and in meat-packing plants. We depend upon them every day to live our lives and any return to normalcy post-pandemic requires those very immigrants to resume doing those jobs. The problem is, they're being chased away, forced to return to places where they risk being beaten, tortured, or murdered. Their applications for political asylum, for Green Cards, for permanent residency, and even for naturalization are on hold. 

This is not unusual for America. We always look for someone to blame whenever things aren't going well for us. The pandemic? Well, that's China's fault. Only it isn't. Unemployment? That's because all those immigrants are stealing our high-wage jobs. Only they're not. Often, they're doing the jobs many Americans refuse to do, like sweating in the hot sun all day building apartments, homes, and businesses with air-conditioning for us to live and work in comfort. Or, picking the fruits and vegetables we put on our dinner tables at night while they go hungry because they are not eligible for state or federal assistance. Or, slaughtering the animals for the steaks, hamburgers, and chicken dishes we enjoy so much, while Covid-19 runs rampant through their factories and budget apartment complexes. 

Perhaps we should listen to what the Bible tells us about how we treat the sojourner in our midst. Perhaps it is time to recognize that immigrants, whether documented or not, are not the enemy. They are our friends, our neighbors, our handyman/gardener, our butchers, our janitors, and our waiters/waitresses. They are us and we are them. It is time we stand together as one America. We are a land of immigrants and unless you are pure native American, you are an immigrant as well. This land is not your land and it is not my land. It is not even our land. It is God's land and we are all just sojourners together. 

I'll leave you with just one more verse of Scripture from a favorite passage of mine:

Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Justice, kindness, and humility...how are we doing?