Migrant ministry NYC
Niurka Meléndez, a founder of Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid, offers practical information and advice to newcomers trying to navigate New York City. The aid group is a partner with the United Methodist Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew in assisting the recent influx of asylum seekers there. (Photo by K Karpen)
Special to United Methodist Insight | March 11, 2026
I want to continue looking at compassion, focusing on a particular way we see whether or not we have it: the care we give to immigrants.
The sins of imperialism are legion. [1] One of its greatest transgressions is the mistreatment of immigrants This is on full display in the current administration, as it does the exact opposite of what God calls us to do.
That many who are involved in the oppression claim to be Christian is the height of hypocrisy, not because we say so but because their words and actions are the undeniable sign that it is so. These imperialists take themselves out of the Judeo-Christian tradition (and for that matter out of the ethics espoused by the world’s religions) through their dangers and harmful rhetoric and conduct.
The Bible makes three major claims with respect to immigrants. I name and reference them without comment.
First, immigrants are included in the Covenant
Genesis 6:18-19
Genesis 9:9-10
Joshua 8;33
Isaiah 56:6
Acts 10:34
Second, immigrants are to be equally loved and cared for.
Leviticus 16:29
Numbers 9:14
Deuteronomy 10:18-19
1 Kings 8:41-43
Job 29:16
Psalm 146;9
Isaiah 14:1
Ezekiel 47:22
Tobit 1:8
Matthew 25:33
Romans 12:13
Hebrews 13:1
Third, immigrants must not be oppressed.
Exodus 22:21
Exodus 23:9
Leviticus 19:34
Deuteronomy 27:19
Psalm 94:6-7
Jeremiah 7:5
Zechariah 7:9-10
Included in all of this is our remembrance that we are all immigrants…
Exodus 23:9
Leviticus 19:35
Deuteronomy 10:19
There is no clearer teaching in the Bible than this. Leaders in the current administration do the opposite, making their claim to be Judeo-Christian bogus. They are condemned by their own words (Matthew 12:37). They are known by their fruits (Matthew 7:1, 7:20).
We have a common call from Jesus: to care for “the least of these” (Matthew 25:40). His one sentence summarizes the Wisdom tradition’s emphasis on caring for the poor and oppressed. Not to do so is described in the Book of Proverbs as wickedness perpetrated by destitute leaders (Proverbs 28:3). Our failure to do so is a national disgrace.
[1] These books will take you farther into an understanding of imperialism and its sinfulness,
Marcus Borg, Jesus: Jesus: A Religious Revolutionary
Walter Brueggemann, Out of Babylon
John Dominic Crossan, God and Empire
Joerg Rieger, Jesus vs. Caesar
Joerg Rieger, Christ and Empire
Steve Harper 2024
Courtesy Photo
The Rev. Dr. Steve Harper is retired seminary professor who taught for 32 years in the disciplines of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies. Author and co-author of more than fifty books.. He is also a retired Elder in The Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.