A Theological Response to Immigration Myths.
Hello my friends,
I’ve seen several viral posts from pastors on a “biblical response” to immigration. While some make good points, many are unfortunately perpetuating myths about immigration rather than the reality we are living in.
So, in a time where theological responses are often needed in Christian conversations, I thought I would just put together a few theological responses to many of the myths and negative stereotypes I continue to hear.
Please remember, I am a firm believer in the separation of church and state. I am not advocating that the Bible dictate our nation’s government. I am simply trying to give language for theological responses in Christian conversation, to false narratives, and to unjust policies in our current political environment.
In times of political fear and economic uncertainty, it’s not uncommon for a culture to create scapegoats. Immigrants have long borne that burden—blamed for societal ills, treated as threats, and dehumanized in policy and rhetoric alike. But Scripture calls the people of God to see differently. It calls us to truth, justice, and love—especially for the most vulnerable.
So let’s examine a few of the most common myths about immigration in light of the gospel.
MYTH #1: “Immigrants are a drain on our country.”
TRUTH: Study after study shows that immigrants—both documented and undocumented—contribute more to the economy than they take. They start businesses, pay billions in taxes, and take jobs many citizens won’t. They are vital in industries like agriculture, construction, and healthcare. Immigrants are not a drain—they are a blessing.
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: The Bible never defines a person’s worth by their economic output. In fact, it warns us not to favor the rich over the poor (James 2:1–7). God’s kingdom is built not on cost-benefit analysis but on belovedness. The call to welcome the stranger (Leviticus 19:34, Deuteronomy 10:19) is rooted in who God is—not in what the stranger can offer us.
MYTH #2: “There’s an invasion happening at the border.”
TRUTH: This language is not only inaccurate—it is dangerous. Most people at the border are asylum seekers fleeing war, cartel violence, economic collapse, or persecution. Seeking asylum is legal under both U.S. and international law. They are not invading—they are pleading for help.
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: Scripture is clear: “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt” (Exodus 22:21). Fear-based narratives of invasion are the language of Pharaoh, not of Christ. The gospel invites us to see the image of God in every person—not as enemies, but as neighbors (Luke 10:25–37).
MYTH #3: “People just want open borders.”
TRUTH: The vast majority of people calling for immigration reform are not advocating for open borders. They are asking for a humane, just, and workable system—one that prioritizes family unity, recognizes asylum rights, and does not criminalize desperation.
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: The Bible teaches that laws are meant to serve justice, not suppress it (Isaiah 10:1–2). When laws perpetuate cruelty, tear apart families, or trap people in cycles of poverty and fear, the Church must advocate for a better way. Obedience to law is never an excuse for complicity in injustice (Acts 5:29).
MYTH #4: “Our country is too full already.”
TRUTH: The United States has vast resources, space, and capacity. The problem isn’t lack—it’s distribution. Wealth inequality, not immigration, is the root of most economic strain. Immigrants don’t take too much—they often receive too little.
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: God’s economy is not one of scarcity but of abundance. The early church “shared everything they had… and there was no needy person among them” (Acts 4:32–35). When we say there isn’t enough to go around, we are often protecting our comfort, not preserving justice. Hospitality is not a matter of capacity—it’s a matter of compassion.
MYTH #5: “We can’t help immigrants until we care for our own.”
TRUTH: This is a false dichotomy. We are capable of doing both—and we must. The systems that fail the poor in our own communities are the same ones harming immigrants. It’s not an either/or, it’s a both/and.
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan precisely to blow up the boundaries of “our own.” Love of neighbor extends beyond tribal, national, or political lines. To follow Jesus is to love across borders, because the kingdom of God has no borders. Christ did not die for one nation, but for all.
MYTH #6: “Immigrants will change our culture and pose a religious threat.”
TRUTH: Cultures change constantly—and always have. Immigrants bring with them languages, customs, and faiths that can enrich the cultural fabric rather than erode it. Christianity itself has always been a faith that transcends national and cultural boundaries. It is not fragile. It thrives across every language and people group, often in the margins and among the poor.
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: Christianity is not a cultural artifact to be protected—it is a gospel to be shared. Fear that immigrants will dilute Christian culture confuses the gospel with nationalism. The early church didn’t fear being surrounded by other religions or cultures—they flourished in the middle of the Roman Empire, embodying a radically different way of life. Christianity is most powerful when it refuses to dominate and chooses instead to serve.
Moreover, the presence of immigrants—many of whom are devout believers—can strengthen the Church. Immigrants are planting churches, revitalizing congregations, and bearing witness to the gospel in powerful ways. What some call a “threat,” Scripture might call a revival.
MYTH #7: “Most immigrants coming here are criminals.”
TRUTH: The overwhelming majority of immigrants—documented and undocumented—are law-abiding people fleeing hardship, war, poverty, or persecution. They are seeking safety, work, and dignity. There is no evidence to support the claim that most immigrants are criminals; in fact, the process of immigration itself—especially asylum seeking—is legal under both U.S. and international law.
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: Slandering entire groups of people based on fear or rumor is not just unkind—it is unbiblical. Proverbs warns us that “a false witness who pours out lies” is detestable to God (Proverbs 6:16–19). And James tells us that “judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful” (James 2:13). Jesus calls us to judge not by appearances, but with “right judgment” (John 7:24). Labelling vulnerable families as criminals without evidence betrays both truth and grace.
MYTH #8: “Immigrants commit more crimes.”
TRUTH: Decades of data show that immigrants—especially undocumented ones—commit fewer crimes than native-born citizens. This is true across multiple studies and remains consistent in both conservative and progressive research. Immigrants are more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators, often avoiding any trouble with law enforcement for fear of deportation.
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: Scripture forbids bearing false witness (Exodus 20:16), and condemns unjust accusations against the vulnerable. When immigrants are falsely accused and scapegoated for political or social gain, the Church must speak up. Jesus himself was accused by the religious and political elite of being a threat to the empire, of breaking laws, and of inciting rebellion. That should make us cautious of any narrative that paints an entire group—especially the poor, displaced, and foreign—as dangerous by default. The kingdom of God is built on truth, not propaganda.
MYTH #9: “ICE is only targeting criminals.”
TRUTH: Despite public claims that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) focuses only on dangerous criminals, in practice, ICE has detained and deported people with no criminal records—including long-term residents, asylum seekers, parents, and children. Raids have targeted homes, schools, churches, hospitals, and even courtrooms where immigrants are actively following immigration laws. In many cases, ICE has separated families, denied due process, and deported individuals with deep community ties for minor infractions—or none at all. This is happening overwhelmingly to people of color.
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: The Bible repeatedly warns against systems that punish the innocent and protect the powerful. “Woe to those who make unjust laws,” Isaiah writes, “to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed” (Isaiah 10:1–2). When enforcement becomes indiscriminate, when mercy is absent, and when fear takes priority over justice, the Church must say clearly: this is not righteousness.
Romans 13 does not justify cruelty—it binds governments to serve the good of all people, especially the vulnerable. When enforcement prioritizes quotas over compassion, and fear over fairness, it fails its biblical mandate. The work of justice is not simply punishing wrongdoing; it is protecting the dignity of all who bear God’s image.
MYTH #10: “Immigrants are bringing drugs into our country.”
TRUTH: This narrative is one of the most persistent and harmful distortions. The overwhelming majority of illegal drugs entering the U.S. do not come through migrants crossing the desert or surrendering at ports of entry to seek asylum. They come through official border crossings, hidden in vehicles and commercial shipments—most often trafficked by U.S. citizens. The data from Customs and Border Protection and the DEA consistently show this.
To blame immigrants—especially those fleeing violence and poverty—for drug trafficking is not just inaccurate; it is unjust.
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: Again, bearing false witness is not just a personal sin—it has communal consequences (Exodus 23:1–9). When lies are repeated to justify oppression or harden public sentiment against the vulnerable, we are no longer speaking truth in love; we are participating in injustice.
MYTH #11: “Jesus followed the laws of the land when his family fled to Egypt—so today’s immigrants should too.”
TRUTH: This claim is based on an assumption that simply isn’t found in the text. Matthew 2 tells us that Joseph, Mary, and Jesus fled to Egypt as refugees to escape state-sanctioned violence and genocide. The passage does not mention legal process, border permissions, or compliance with any governing authority. It simply says: “Joseph got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt…” (Matthew 2:14).
Moreover, Egypt was a foreign province under Roman influence but not under Herod’s direct control. To read this as an example of modern-style “legal immigration” is to impose a modern political framework onto an ancient and radically different context. First-century empires were not organized around national sovereignty and border regulation as we understand them today. There was no immigration paperwork, asylum process, or defined visa status.
THEOLOGICAL RESPONSE: To use Jesus’ flight to Egypt as a justification for rigid border control today deeply misunderstands both Scripture and history. Jesus was, by every measure, a refugee—fleeing violence, dependent on the hospitality of a foreign land, and completely vulnerable. The Holy Family did not pause to ask permission to flee—they ran for their lives.
We must be cautious not to baptize modern policies with the language of Scripture when the parallels simply do not exist. Scripture doesn’t affirm empire logic; it disrupts it. It tells the story of a Savior who was born in obscurity, targeted by a murderous regime, and given refuge by a foreign land. He would later say, “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me.”
To dismiss modern-day refugees or asylum seekers because “Jesus followed the law” is not only a misreading—it is a theological reversal of the gospel’s compassion for the oppressed.
Final Word
To be a Christian is to remember that we were once strangers, and Jesus welcomed us (Ephesians 2:12–13). Our salvation is itself an act of divine hospitality. So when we talk about immigration, we are not just debating policy—we are revealing something about the God we believe in.
Let us choose truth over fear. Let us choose welcome over walls. And let us live out a gospel that sees every immigrant not as a burden, but as a brother or sister in whom Christ himself is present (Matthew 25:35–40).
“For I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.”
May we never forget which side of that sentence we’re called to be on.
It should also be noted:
A draft report from the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) — commissioned during the Trump administration — analyzed fiscal data for refugees and asylees from 2005 to 2014. It found that they paid $269.1 billion in taxes and other government revenue, while receiving about $206 billion in services and benefits. That yielded a net positive contribution of $63 billion across all levels of government.
Yet, despite this positive finding, the final version released to the public omitted the benefits and focused solely on costs. This occurred after Stephen Miller—then a senior White House advisor—reportedly intervened, stating that “The President believes refugees cost more, and the results of this study shouldn’t embarrass the President.” Officials from HHS and the White House even “cherry-picked” data to support anti-refugee rhetoric.This study isn’t speculation—it’s the government’s own analysis, drafted by analysts, showing refugees contribute a net fiscal benefit.
The suppression appears politically motivated, undermining transparency and allowing false narratives to persist.It highlights yet again how selective data presentation can distort policy debates, often to the detriment of vulnerable populations.Refugees contributed $63 billion more to our country than they cost. It comes from an internal federal study that was later suppressed. The manipulation of its release suggests a clear effort to shape public perception, not present balanced facts.
Links to sources:
-HHS study details via The New York Times.
-GQ report on how the White House buried it.
-Trump admin. rejects report that refugees add billions in revenue.
-How Stephen Miller Single-Handedly Got the U.S. to Accept Fewer Refugees
-Explainer: Immigrants and the U.S. Economy
-Trump says migrants are fueling violent crime. Here is what the research shows.
-The Effects of Immigration on the United States’ Economy
-The Fiscal Impact of Immigration in the United States
-Illegal immigration to the United States and crime
-Mass Deportation: Devastating Costs to America, Its Budget and Economy.
-Debunking the Myth of the ‘Migrant Crime Wave’
-Immigration as the Main Driver of Economic Growth in the U.S.
-How ICE’s Immigration Crackdown Could Slow the Labor Market
-How "Invasion" language is dangerous.
-Axios Explains: The myth of a U.S.-Mexico "open border"
-How the Right’s “Open Borders” Myth Might Be Fueling the Migration Crisis
-The Conservative Case for Immigration: Christianity, culture, economy, and crime.
-The U.S. benefits from immigration but policy reforms needed to maximize gains.
-Economic Security Programs Reduce Overall Poverty, Racial and Ethnic Inequities
-Survey: Republicans and White evangelicals are outliers in fear of immigrants invading US
-Manufacturing the Migrant Threat: Race, Politics, and Human Rights
-ICE Not Just Targeting “Criminals”: Nearly Half of Detainees Have No Criminal Records
-Trump’s ICE arrests non-criminals despite crime-focused message
-A Missouri Town Was Solidly Behind Trump. Then Carol Was Detained.
-What are the Most Common Challenges in the U.S. Immigration Process?
-The Most Common Challenges In Immigration Cases And Their Solutions
Thank you. Sometimes I begin to think I’m going crazy. It is helpful to hear sound reasoning that fits with my Christian upbringing.
I appreciate how you broke this down. I plan on sharing it with quite a few people outside of sub stack. You are a truth teller, and you are so important as a shepherd and servant of God.❤️🙏