One of the biggest issues facing America is illegal immigration as a result of open borders. It has been admitted by our own government that the open border is allowing known terrorist groups to literally walk into the sovereign United States.
How do we approach this problem from a biblical perspective? Well, you have the option to take a deep dive into several passages and resulting doctrines. For that I would point you here to a wonderful article by Ralph Drollinger.
Another way – a less time consuming way – is to look at a single account in the Bible of how the situation was viewed and handled. The book of Nehemiah is apropos here.
Nehemiah had an open border problem.
And in the book of Nehemiah we can see four principles in play concerning how Nehemiah (and the nation) dealt with the problem.
The open border problem was the result of a sin problem.
please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned. Nehemiah 1:6
The first response of Nehemiah to a situation of national calamity is repentance. I don’t need to detail here the myriad of things that America needs to turn from. I’m sure half a dozen things leap into your mind without me spelling them out. Those things need to be dealt with humbly and sincerely. Repairing an open border starts first with repairing the nation’s soul. Nehemiah understood this. I pray this for America.
Closed borders are requisite to being a nation.
This idea is inherent in the story of Nehemiah. It’s common logic that a nation (a defined people with unique culture) need borders – either natural or man-made. Nehemiah understood this. The king whom Nehemiah worked for understood this. The people that Nehemiah would rally to build the wall understood this. And if we’re honest with ourselves today we understand this as well. Without borders a nation is in distress and the cities lie in waste (Nehemiah 2:17).
It is good and right to ensure a nation’s borders are secure.
And I said to them, “Do not let the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun is hot; and while they stand guard, let them shut and bar the doors; and appoint guards from among the inhabitants of Jerusalem, one at his watch station and another in front of his own house.” Nehemiah 7:3
When the wall was complete Nehemiah gave specific instructions that the city should be guarded and watched carefully. This is because he understood the dangers inherent in the unknown. For the same reason that you don’t leave your door unlocked at night, we don’t leave our nation’s border open: the unknown. It is also of note that the people were responsible for both their national border security and their personal safety. Well regulated militia anyone?
It is wise to know who is living inside the secure borders.
Then my God put it into my heart to gather the nobles, the rulers, and the people, that they might be registered by genealogy. Nehemiah 7:5a
God Himself thought it important to have an exact record of who would live inside the border. So, He instructed Nehemiah to make a census of all who would occupy the city. The principles of of dealing differently with citizens, legal immigrants, and illegal immigrants come into play here. Not knowing who is inside the walls is akin to not having any.