And Who is My Neighbor?: A Faith-Based Argument for Immigration Policy Reform in Welcoming Undocumented Refugees

The January 6, 2021 insurrection in Washington, DC revealed several things about the United States. In addition to revealing that an appropriate national moniker might be the “Divided States of America,” the insurrection also showed that Christian nationalism continues to play a pervasive role in the country. Indeed, in the aftermath of vigilante protestors wearing clothing and proudly waving flags that read, “Jesus is My Savior and Trump is My President,” there has been no shortage of scholarly writings arguing that Christian nationalism is the greatest contemporary threat to American democracy. Some leading sociologists highlight that Christian nationalism—also often referenced as white Christian nationalism—might be a misnomer because it has nothing to do with theology or any religious orthodoxy. Instead, with a basis in racialized power dynamics, it is a political framework that places America on par with the Bible’s nation of Israel, regarding the original United States as manifesting God’s intention for God’s chosen people in God’s chosen land. To therefore remain consistent with America’s original power structure of white, Anglo-Saxon and Protestant dominion, Christian nationalism seeks to restore America’s order, with a particular national animus against Jews, minorities, and—to the focus of this Article—immigrants. The most recent nationalized animus against Jews has manifested with attempts to use Critical Race Theory as a wedge issue, while concurrently attempting to ban books on the Holocaust from public schools and libraries. A nationalized animus has similarly manifested against minorities—especially in the wake of the Supreme Court’s infamous decision in Shelby County v. Holder (2013)—as many Southern states have enacted voter suppression laws deliberately targeting African Americans. Indeed, in N.C State Conference of NAACP v. McCrory (2016), the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal even found unconstitutional a law from North Carolina targeted Blacks with “almost surgical precision.” With respect to America’s failed immigration policies—especially since 2017, when the Trump Administration began with its direct appeal to Christian Nationalism through its “Make America Great Again” policies—America has taken unabashed anti-Muslim and anti-Hispanic positions. Regrettably, the succeeding Biden Administration, beginning in January 2021, has done little to reverse course. To support this Article’s central thesis, that the xenophobia of Christian nationalism must be combatted with a faith-based ethic of welcome and resistance, this Article limits its immigration policy consideration to the long-term residents I call “neighbors,” the only class of immigrants the United Nations legally classifies as refugees, displaced immigrants legally seeking refuge from another country. Indeed, refugees are largely long-term U.S. residents who have lost their resident alien status because they missed the one-year window to apply for asylum. Because of the politics of Christian nationalism, however, along with the accompanying vile rhetoric that vilifies so many hardworking members of society who contribute to the American economy, Congress has repeatedly failed to pass immigration reform legislation. Consequently, although this limited class is meaningfully contributing to America, there is no legal mechanism for these refugees to normalize their status within America. It’s time to put pressure on Congress. In looking at refugees as neighbors, this Article calls out the “Otherism” and xenophobia of Christian nationalism, while relying on the ethics of political theology in using the famed Parable of the Good Samaritan to explore “cosmopolitanism,” and “communitarianism,” two divergent social viewpoints that produce divergent immigration politics. Insofar as cosmopolitanism favors open borders, and communitarianism favors border regulation through the sovereignty of nation-states, I urge faith-based leaders to adopt a position that is a synthesis of the two, while also urging faith-based leaders to use the same scriptural ethic of civil disobedience that was so often successfully used in the past, to again fight against Christian nationalism in working toward an inclusive and egalitarian society. This Article calls on morally equipped faith leaders to initiate a rebirth of the 1980s Sanctuary Movement and serve as exemplars in placing pressure on Congress to move past gridlock and act for the good of the “Divided States.”

Duke Scholars

Author Jay Augustine