ARIZONA’S IMMIGRATION LAW

A CHRISTIAN ANALYSIS

There has been quite a bit of interest in Arizona’s recent immigration

law, Arizona SB 1070. How should a Christian analyze such a law? First,
any Christian should first go to Scriptures to see if there is any
guidance. And, yes there is. In fact, on this issue there is quite a bit of
guidance. On the issues of “aliens” the Scriptures are voluminous and clear.
I believe the best and clearest Scripture on the matter comes from Leviticus:

Leviticus 19: 33-34:

“When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him.
The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love
him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”

Also, I believe these words from the Book of James are helpful when
analyzing this law from a Christian perspective.

JAMES 2: 1-9
“My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don’t
show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold
ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If
you show special attention to a man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s
a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man. “You stand there “ or “Sit
on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves
and become judges with evil thoughts?
Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor
in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he
promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor. Is it not
the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging
you into court? Are they not the ones who are slandering the noble name
of him to whom you belong?
If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, ‘Love your
neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing right. But if you show favoritism,
you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.”
 Keep the Scriptures in mind. Step Two is to actually reading the
civil law. Reading some columnist or ideologue’s writing is not reading the
text of the law, It took me about five minutes to find the actual text of the
law on the internet. It is about 17 pages of legalese and may take some
effort to read it. In any event, these are some crucial aspects of this law that
I have summarized:

ARIZONA SB 1070

1). All agencies, officials of this state, country, city, town, or any other
political subdivision must enforce federal immigration law to the full
extent of federal law. (AZ SB 11-501(a))

My Comment: Park rangers, public sanitation workers, animal enforcement

workers, school teachers, etc. must enforce federal immigration laws, not
just the police.

2), Any person covered in section 1 above must make a reasonable

attempt to determine the immigration status of a person upon “any
lawful contact” with that person “where reasonable suspicion exists that
a person is an alien that is unlawfully present in the United States.” (AZ
SB 11-501(B))

My Comment: People have argued about what would constitute “reasonable

suspicion”. Proponents of the law have stated that police officers are
sufficiently professional that they could do this without “racial profiling”.
Even if that were possible, is that true about all other public employees?
This law requires all public employees to enforce federal immigration laws.
Frankly, it is hard to see how this could be done without making some
judgment on clothes, accent, cars, skin color, and physical appearance.

3). Any Person may bring an action in Superior Court to challenge any
public official or agency concerning its enforcement of this law. (AZ SB
11-501(F))

My Comment: This is unusual. Usually public workers and individuals are

shielded from complaints about particular policies and law enforcement.
Although law enforcement officers are specifically indeminified in Section I
of this title, this is not true of any other public employee, i.e. public social
workers or teachers. This law is a license for harassment.

4). Any alien without sufficient documentation will not only be guilty of
a violation of any federal immigration law, but is also guilty of trespass
on any private or public land in the state. (AZ SB 13-1509(A))

My Comment: This clearly violates the Common Law Right of Sanctuary

and infringes upon the church’s rights that have its existence all the way
back to England. This established a secular religion in place of the church’s
rights to sacred law or equity law that is established in our country. Also,
you as a private person have no right to give an undocumented person a right
to be on your private property. Trespass has always been the province of the
person who has the right to control the property. In other words, both a
church’s rights and a private person’s rights are violated.
Let me give a hypothetical example. A felon flees to your private
property. You shelter them willingly and knowingly. You could be charged
with obstruction of justice, sheltering a felon, conspiracy after the fact, or
any number of charges. However, the felon would not be charged with
trespassing on your property. Why? You gave your permission. Private
Property Rights and the Right to Sanctuary have been violated.

5). It is a Class 1 Misdemeanor to pick up any one to work or enter a

car to work if it is deemed to impede traffic. This is true whether or not
the person is “illegal” or not. (AZ SB 13-2928(A),(B))

My Comment; An honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay seems to not
be an American value any more. Christians should read Matthew 20: 1-16.
Day Laborers are common throughout the world. When we are too cool for
such work and such labor practice, then perhaps we need to be humbled. I
am sure the standard of impeding traffic is already covered by many Arizona
traffic regulations. It is hard to believe the intention is anything other than
what it first appears, an attempt to harass poor day laborers.

In summary, a Christian should be guided by Biblical principles.

First, see what the Bible has said about the general topic. Then, see whether
the law fits those principals. In this case, it is hard for me to see how this
law promotes loving the alien as myself (Leviticus 19: 34) or does not
promote being a respecter of persons, which is prohibited in James 2. Our
response is predicated by biblical principles, not political biases