“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and the sojourner: I am the LORD.” Leviticus 23.22

As we have seen, God created human beings for work. Working reflects the image of God and allows people to provide for their needs and contribute to the developing goodness of the earth and the wellbeing of neighbors. In ancient Israel, even the able poor were expected to work.

Any foreigners living for an extended period in ancient Israel were also expected to work. Biblical Law makes only scant provision for meeting the material needs of foreigners out of anything like a public purse. Part of the three-year tithe was set aside for that purpose; in the main, however, strangers, like the native poor, were expected to work in order to provide for their needs and contribute to the local economy (Deut. 14.28, 29).

The entitlement mindset in America today has made it possible for foreigners who live here illegally to benefit from public services paid for by American taxpayers, chiefly, education and some forms of health-care. Illegal workers do not pay taxes, and many of them send large portions of their wages back to their native country, to support their families. Thus, the only “good” they are contributing to our society is cheap labor – labor secured, by the way, in many cases contrary to existing wage laws (which are themselves unjust, but they are the law of the land), and to the disadvantage of American workers who cannot compete with sub-par wages, since they have to report their income.

It’s simply cheaper to hire illegal aliens in some capacities because they can be paid below minimum wage requirements and without the bother of IRS and FICA “contributions.” And once they’re here and working, they become a possible source of political power; thus many politicians work to make all manner of public services available to them, whether or not they are employed.

Can it be helping to resolve the immigration problem in America that public services are available at little or no cost to foreigners, especially those who are here illegally? I don’t see how, and I can’t imagine that, in the ancient Israelite economy, strangers would be allowed to come to Israel and live off the tithes of the people, without taking up employment to sustain themselves.

The present political climate is making it increasingly difficult to wean anyone from entitlements, since this is an efficient way for politicians to purchase the votes of the dependent. Thus, even talking about removing illegal aliens from the ranks of benefits, and requiring them all to work, is not likely to happen in the near future.

But in this series we’re thinking about long-term policy changes, and only as we begin to think this way and to prepare for a different approach to the problem of immigration will we ever be able to expect different outcomes in our immigration situation.

If it were generally known, among those considering a “visit” to America, that all are expected to work in order to provide for their needs, and that no public services are available to them or their children for free – except as local charity was able to provide – I suspect this would cut down the flow of “illegals” into the country.

Here might be yet another area of public policy where real immigration reform could be accomplished.

T. M. Moore

Visit our website, www.ailbe.org, and sign up to receive our thrice-weekly devotional, Crosfigell, featuring writers from the period of the Celtic Revival and T. M.’s reflections on Scripture and the Celtic Christian tradition. Does the Law of God still apply today? Order a copy of T. M.’s book, The Ground for Christian Ethics, and the compilation, The Law of God,and study the question for yourself.