As red states prepare for a showdown over whether Texas should have the right to secure its own border with razor wire, thousands of illegal migrants, exploiting a broken asylum system loophole, are pouring into the country. The Biden administration shattered records last year, bringing in approximately 8 million (some estimates go up to 12 million) mystery foreigners from dozens of countries, filling up cities, towns, hotels, airports, and makeshift camps. To put it into perspective, that's a higher population than a majority of the individual states in America.
Speculate all you want about who's doing it and why this is happening; there's no doubt this crisis is being purposely manufactured by political and corporate interests who have a shared interest in unchecked immigration. Soon the message will go out that the very idea of borders is racist and unloving. Left-wing globalists, in typical fashion, will attach themselves like parasites to the magnanimous Christian virtues of the West and fool unwitting, well-meaning normies into believing that a borderless country is what Jesus would want. And for a nation of Biblically illiterate Christians, the lies, distortions, and twisted texts will be very effective at getting people to meekly accept the slow suicide of their civilization.
Here's the counter-message that needs to go out immediately: supporting a strong and secure border is the loving, Christian thing to do. This counter-message has a distinct advantage over progressive globalist messaging thanks to one thing: it's true.
What follows is a list of short, practical points for your conversations about this issue online and in person.
Here are 7 reasons loving Christians support border security:
1) A secure border prevents deaths from fentanyl poisoning.
It only takes two-thousandths of one gram of fentanyl to kill someone - about the size of a few grains of salt - and over 20,000 pounds of it were seized at the border in 2023. That was just a fraction of the deadly substance that successfully made it into the country - enough to kill millions of people.
There are over 100,000 people in America dying from fentanyl overdoses every year. Last year, we hit a new record of 112,000 deaths. Children and minorities were the hardest hit. It's a devastating loss of life that could be lessened by a secure border. Anyone who names the name of Christ should support stopping the flow of this poison.
2) A secure border fights back against modern child slavery.
The number of unaccompanied minors the Biden admin has brought across the border — many of whom are being trafficked for labor and sex slavery — is over 430,000. It's a staggering number. That's more trafficked children in just 3 years than the total number of African slaves shipped to North America during the entirety of the slave trade. CBP estimates that approximately half of trafficking victims are exploited for forced labor, and almost twenty percent (mostly girls) are trafficked for sex.
The opening of the Southern border has provided routes, resources, and infrastructure to one of the largest human trafficking operations in world history. Christians are called to stand up for the weak and oppressed. If you care about slavery and the exploitation of children, you should want a closed and secure border.
3) A secure border protects the innocent from criminals who would prey on them.
In 2023, border patrol agents encountered a spike in the number of illegal aliens with prior criminal convictions, including assault, rape, and murder. A 2021, the DOJ reported that 64% of federal arrests in 2018 involved noncitizens, despite them comprising only 7% of the population at that time. Even more heartbreaking is the growing list of families who have been shattered by the death of a son, daughter, or parent at the hands of criminal migrants.
In Texas alone, the Department of Public Safety has tallied 297,000 illegal aliens booked into Texas jails who were charged with more than 509,000 criminal offenses. These included arrests for 940 homicide charges, 64,127 assault charges, 9,246 burglary charges, 59,936 drug charges, 1128 kidnapping charges, 25,441 theft charges, 39,694 obstructing police charges, 2,912 robbery charges, 6,422 sexual assault charges, 7,410 sexual offense charges, and 6,193 weapon charges.
Look at these numbers and remember that each case involves an innocent victim. Closing the border would prevent thousands from being victimized by criminals.
4) A secure border protects our voting rights as citizens.
For as much as I hear progressives expressing the desire to protect "democracy," they're oddly silent about one of the greatest threats to democracy we face today. With between 8 and 12 million people being shipped to battleground states, corporations, foreign operatives, and special interests now have the power to swing elections.
And yes, illegal immigrants can vote. According to former White House advisor Stephen Miller, "Many do not realize that the United States does not verify citizenship as a prerequisite for voting. We use the honor system — just check a box. It's scandalous."
Those facilitating unchecked immigration have the power to leverage it to destroy the voting power of law-abiding, taxpaying citizens. For many poor and marginalized people, their vote is the greatest power they have. Stripping it away with unchecked immigration is lawless and unjust. Any Christian who reads the Bible knows that such injustice is an affront to God.
5) A secure border protects immigrants from dying during dangerous trips through desolate areas.
Over 800 migrants died last year making the trip through the desert. That represents a 24% surge from peak numbers under the Trump Administration. In addition, thousands of children were exploited, beaten, and raped by coyotes and cartels. If you're a Christian who claims to care about the "foreigner" and the "stranger," You should want a secure border with lawful organized avenues for legal entry.
Even if you're more open-handed on immigration, it's self-evident that securing the border protects the safety of the immigrant.
6) A secure border helps to preserve a free and civil society.
1 Timothy 2:2 commands us to pray for those in authority "that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness." There is a clear connection drawn between public policy and our ability to live peaceful and quiet lives. The peace and safety we enjoy in this country is not normal, and it is not something we should take for granted. Look anywhere else in the world where leaders don't enforce the law and you find war, oppression, and slaughter. Right now, we have lawless leaders incentivizing lawlessness.
America has been a blessing to the world. Our example and leadership have freed millions from poverty, slavery, and oppression. If we want that blessing to continue, Christians should be intentional about protecting it for future generations.
7) A secure border ensures the just punishment of evildoers as mandated by scripture.
In Romans, the Apostle Paul told believers to be "subject to governing authorities," and that those who disobey the authorities "incur judgment on themselves." Romans 13:4 says:
"For the one in authority is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God's servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer."
A government that fails to punish lawlessness is operating in disobedience to God. Right now, we have illegal immigrants defying our nation's laws. They are being given court dates sometimes over 10 years out and then released into the country. Ecclesiastes 8:11 says:
"Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil."
The government has a mandate from God to enact justice. When they fail, the innocent suffer. Bible-believing Christians should support a government that is just.
Never let anyone tell you that your Christian beliefs require you to support an unprotected border.
When Joe Biden took office, he inherited the lowest rate of illegal immigration in 45 years, and within days, he reversed all that, creating a human crisis and suffering at a scale unlike anything this country has ever seen. If you're someone who names the name of Christ and feels called to love both neighbors on both sides of the border, you should desire, fight for, and pray for a secure border.
