Why so much conservative hostility towards undocumented immigrants?

[compassion 4 humanity]

For the record, not every conservative is hostile towards undocumented immigrants. When John McCain ran for president in 2008, he advocated a pathway to citizenship for these people. Lindsay Graham, Jeb Bush, and other compassionate conservatives likewise support an amnesty. In fact, I’m a conservative who also feels sympathy towards the undocumented community and wants to see the government help make the good law-abiding ones become citizens.

However, Donald Trump basically became president by scapegoating people in this country illegally. When he said he would build a wall along the US-Mexico border, his support went through the roof and secured his nomination. The fact that he accumulated so much support from Republican-voters testifies to the hostility that so many conservatives feel towards undocumented immigrants. To me, this is a very sad thing.

The Bible says this in Leviticus 19:34: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” Obviously those foreigners residing in ancient Israel didn’t have visas or passports. They were undocumented immigrants for all practical purposes. And God is telling his chosen people to treat them as native-born residents. This means God wants us to treat undocumented immigrants in the US with compassion.

Of course I’m aware of drug traffickers, sex traffickers, and violent criminals who come here illegally. By all means deport them. But what about the ones who study hard, abide by all the laws and don’t commit crime, and live like normal people? They’ve been here much of their lives and should be given a pathway to citizenship.

As a Republican and compassionate conservative, I don’t think I’ll ever understand what motivates so many other conservatives to feel so much hostility towards people just because they’re different. Yes, they came into this country illegally, but hasn’t everyone done something illegal in their life at one time? Give them a chance.

Our GOP is besmirched with xenophobia and needs to clean up.

 

[Hammster]

In general, I’m against illegal activities. I don’t think that makes me hostile, though.

 

[Hammster]

The Bible says this in Leviticus 19:34: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” Obviously those foreigners residing in ancient Israel didn’t have visas or passports. They were undocumented immigrants for all practical purposes. And God is telling his chosen people to treat them as native-born residents. This means God wants us to treat undocumented immigrants in the US with compassion.

That was for Israel.

 

[Dave-W]

Main reason? The liberals love them and so the conservatives MUST hate them.

 

[Dave-W]

That was for Israel.

True, but it is the heart of the Lord for how we treat each other.

1 Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

 

[Hammster]

Main reason? The liberals love them and so the conservatives MUST hate them.

I must have missed that memo.

 

[Hammster]

True, but it is the heart of the Lord for how we treat each other.

1 Corinthians 10:11
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

Okay, so we should follow our laws just like they did.

Thanks for that.

 

[SeventyOne]

I think it's probably a result of the way criminals are being forced on our nation.

 

[Almost there]

Conservatives value the rule of law. If you are not going to enforce it, eliminate it. Of course, eliminating these laws would be chaos, and "they" know it.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

A few immigrants will usually assimilated culturally, but the masses arriving here now have brought a foreign culture, which is destroying ours. They are not coming to be true citizens but to take advantage of the freedoms and wealth of America. A large part of our national debt is the money they send back to their true homelands. Many are no better than parasites on our economic and welfare systems. OUT WITH THEM, I SAY!

OldWiseGuy - apolitical moderate conservative.

 

[majj27]

Okay, so we should follow our laws just like they did.

Thanks for that.

So we can finally put away the Leviticus verse about laying with a man as with a woman?

Cool.

 

[Hammster]

So we can finally put away the Leviticus verse about laying with a man as with a woman?

Cool.

Derailing already?

 

[Phil 1:21]

What part of "illegal" are people not understanding?

 

[Yarddog]

For the record, not every conservative is hostile towards undocumented immigrants. When John McCain ran for president in 2008, he advocated a pathway to citizenship for these people. Lindsay Graham, Jeb Bush, and other compassionate conservatives likewise support an amnesty. In fact, I’m a conservative who also feels sympathy towards the undocumented community and wants to see the government help make the good law-abiding ones become citizens.

However, Donald Trump basically became president by scapegoating people in this country illegally. When he said he would build a wall along the US-Mexico border, his support went through the roof and secured his nomination. The fact that he accumulated so much support from Republican-voters testifies to the hostility that so many conservatives feel towards undocumented immigrants. To me, this is a very sad thing.

The Bible says this in Leviticus 19:34: “The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.” Obviously those foreigners residing in ancient Israel didn’t have visas or passports. They were undocumented immigrants for all practical purposes. And God is telling his chosen people to treat them as native-born residents. This means God wants us to treat undocumented immigrants in the US with compassion.

Of course I’m aware of drug traffickers, sex traffickers, and violent criminals who come here illegally. By all means deport them. But what about the ones who study hard, abide by all the laws and don’t commit crime, and live like normal people? They’ve been here much of their lives and should be given a pathway to citizenship.

As a Republican and compassionate conservative, I don’t think I’ll ever understand what motivates so many other conservatives to feel so much hostility towards people just because they’re different. Yes, they came into this country illegally, but hasn’t everyone done something illegal in their life at one time? Give them a chance.

Our GOP is besmirched with xenophobia and needs to clean up.

Aren't most Americans illegal immigrants? Though not all Native Americans were hostile to the new settlers many were. On the eve of our Thanksgiving Day celebration, I wonder just how hospitable those tribes would have been, at first, if they knew what the European invasion would have done to their peoples. The Wampanoag Indians did eventually declare war on the settlers because of English intrusion and were almost wiped out.

 

[SoldierOfTheKing]

I'm largely indifferent to the illegals themselves - the problem is the government's systematic non-enforcement of its own immigration laws. It's nothing personal against them; we just can't afford to let them in.

Our GOP is besmirched with xenophobia and needs to clean up.

You're tired of seeing the GOP win? Anyways, phobia implies an irrational fear...

 

[Hammster]

Aren't most Americans illegal immigrants?

No.

 

[A_Thinker]

That was for Israel.

So ... "Love thy neighbor as you love yourself" ... is not for christians ?

 

[PloverWing]

In general, I’m against illegal activities. I don’t think that makes me hostile, though.

I agree that people should follow the law. That's why we have laws.

However, laws are not immutable. The Congress could change the laws to make legal immigration easier. They could make visas easier to obtain, increase the quotas of immigrants who are permitted to come in from each country, and so on. I'd like to see that happen. It would allow more people to immigrate legally, instead of illegally -- thus upholding the rule of law -- and it would allow us to welcome more foreign nationals who are in need.

 

[Hammster]

So ... "Love thy neighbor as you love yourself" ... is not for christians ?

I’m not sure how you made that leap.

What you quoted was part of the LAW for Israel. The LAW for America is different.

 

[A_Thinker]

Aren't most Americans illegal immigrants? Though not all Native Americans were hostile to the new settlers many were. On the eve of our Thanksgiving Day celebration, I wonder just how hospitable those tribes would have been, at first, if they knew what the European invasion would have done to their peoples. The Wampanoag Indians did eventually declare war on the settlers because of English intrusion and were almost wiped out.

I think that the way it worked is that the Europeans took the Americas illegally ... and then, ultimately, passed laws to severely limit who else could come to America.

I recall that slavery was once LAWFUL (i.e. legal) ... and helping a slave escape to the North was unlawful (i.e. illegal).