Policy / Advocate for Needed Clarity, Reforms, and Protections in our Immigration System

Advocate for Needed Clarity, Reforms, and Protections in our Immigration System

For decades, our nation’s immigration system has resulted in dysfunction, creating hardships for immigrants and Americans alike, and not serving the national security interests of the country. Southern Baptists are committed both to Christian compassion and respect for the rule of law; these twin convictions are not irreconcilable. At the 2023 annual meeting, Southern Baptists called on lawmakers to “provide clear guidance for immigrants and asylum seekers,” “maintain robust avenues for valid asylum claimants seeking refuge,” and “prioritize measures that secure our borders and to provide adequate resources to border patrol and those working in our immigration system.”

Securing the border is the first crucial step toward crafting a good, sustainable immigration system. Thankfully, the Trump administration has taken this step, turning the page on a period of record-breaking illegal border crossings during the Biden administration. We now turn to the difficult task of dealing with the consequences of ignoring this problem for decades. The ERLC will advocate for immigration reforms that reflect Southern Baptists priorities expressed in the numerous resolutions on immigration.

In the coming years, Congress and the White House will need to enact meaningful reforms that address our country’s broken immigration system. In this moment, we must pursue fair and compassionate immigration reforms that protect our national interests, promote the rule of law, and ensure every person is treated with dignity. We should ensure dangerous individuals are kept out of our country, have sensible and efficient legal pathways to enter the United States, and provide clarity to people whose legal status hangs in limbo by no fault of their own.

Throughout Scripture, God calls his people to care for the immigrant and the refugee as those who bear the image of God (Matt. 25:35-40; James 1:27). Southern Baptists have reaffirmed this value of all image bearers among us through numerous resolutions declaring “the value and dignity of immigrants, regardless of their race, religion, ethnicity, culture, national origin, or legal status.”

As our nation grapples with the consequences of ignoring the immigration crisis for decades, the ERLC will continue to encourage our leaders to promote the rule of law, provide order, and, in accordance with the Scripture and our confession of faith, treat everyone with the dignity and respect that is due to those made in God’s image.

The ERLC will continue to urge Congress and the White House to pursue meaningful immigration reforms that provide much needed clarity and protection, ensuring we appropriately protect American citizens, tend to the vulnerable who seek to immigrate, and show Christ-like care to all image bearers in the process.

SBC Actions

Southern Baptist spoke to immigration and refugees at the 2023 annual meeting through the resolution “On Wisely Engaging Immigration,” the 2018 annual meeting through the resolution “On Immigration,” the 2011 annual meeting through the resolution “On Immigration and The Gospel,” and the 2006 annual meeting through the resolution, “On the Crisis of Illegal Immigration.”