Should Christians advocate for open borders? The Bible doesn’t give a modern immigration policy, but it does give principles that apply. Scripture treats secure walls and orderly laws as good things that protect a community, and it also commands God’s people to love and protect the foreigners living among them. A biblical view of open borders holds both truths together instead of choosing one and ignoring the other.
Start With the Bible, Not a Party Platform
Immigration is a hot topic, and it gets messy fast because it involves real people and real problems. It’s easy to adopt whatever position our political party holds and then look for verses to support it. Followers of Jesus should do the opposite: start with God’s Word and let it shape our convictions.
We should also be careful with how we apply the Old Testament. Israel was a nation under God’s direct covenant law, and modern countries are not. And the Bible sometimes calls individuals to respond differently than governments. Turning the other cheek, for example, is a personal command, not a national defense policy. Still, the principles God gave Israel reveal what he values.
Walls Were Seen as Good
Throughout Scripture, a city’s walls are pictured as protection. Proverbs even uses a broken wall as a picture of vulnerability.
Proverbs 25:28 Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.
When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem, one of his first priorities was to inspect and rebuild the city’s ruined walls.
Nehemiah 2:17 Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in: Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been burned with fire. Come, let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem, and we will no longer be in disgrace.”
The rebuilt wall didn’t keep every foreigner out of Jerusalem, but it allowed people to come and go in an orderly way and protected those inside. When the wall was finished, God’s people celebrated. Scripture consistently treats walls and boundaries as good, not sinful. Paul even says God “marked out … the boundaries of their lands” for the nations (Acts 17:26).
Order Never Cancelled Compassion
Nehemiah wasn’t harsh. In Nehemiah 5, he defended the poor, stopped leaders from charging interest to struggling families, and refused the food allowance he was entitled to while others went hungry. Strong walls and a compassionate heart went together.
The same is true in God’s law. Israel had boundaries, but God also commanded them to love the foreigners who lived among them.
Leviticus 19:33-34 “‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.
One Law for Everyone
God also expected foreigners living in Israel to follow the same laws as everyone else: “You must have the same regulations for both the foreigner and the native-born” (Numbers 9:14). Many Christians see a modern application here: governments may rightly expect people to follow the laws of the land, including immigration laws, as long as those laws don’t require disobeying God (Romans 13:1; Acts 5:29). Christians may disagree about what those laws should be, but the principle of equal laws fairly applied is biblical.
Citizens of Heaven First
Finally, remember where our deepest loyalty lies: “Our citizenship is in heaven” (Philippians 3:20). That doesn’t make earthly citizenship meaningless, but it keeps us from treating any political position as our ultimate identity. It also reminds us that every immigrant, documented or not, is a person made in God’s image and someone Jesus came to save.
The Takeaway
The Bible treats walls and orderly laws as good and expects everyone to live under the same laws. It also commands God’s people to love the foreigner. Christians can support secure borders and still show genuine compassion, because our first citizenship is in heaven.
