Statement of Lynne and Bill Hybels

Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Refugees

For the Thursday, October 8, 2009 Hearing on Faith-Based Community Perspectives on Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Thank you, Chairman Schumer and distinguished members of the subcommittee for holding this important hearing on faith-based perspectives on comprehensive immigration reform.

I, Lynne Hybels, would like to submit this testimony on behalf of myself and my husband, Bill Hybels.  …

Even though the issues of immigration can often be viewed as a political, economic, or security issue, our perspective on immigration has been formed at the community level as local church leaders.  In this capacity, we are continually confronted with immigration, not necessarily as a policy issue but as a personal issue in which we witness the human consequences of a broken immigration system every day.

Our faith informs us that we were all strangers and aliens once, separated from God. Because God was willing to include us in his redemptive plan, we “are no longer strangers and aliens, but [we] are fellow citizens” (Ephesians 2:18-19a). As Christians, we accept the biblical perspective that we are all sojourners on this earth, commanded to steward it while we await the full arrival of God’s eternal kingdom. Recognizing that we are all sojourners on this land, no matter what our legal status, compels us to extend solidarity to all. This deep sense of solidarity with others is a foundational truth of our country.  We are a nation with historical roots grounded in immigration: out of necessity, many of our ancestors came to this country, and then found a home here.

This perspective can help inform our current perspectives on immigration.  Remembering our own history as immigrants, we must take God seriously when, in Scripture, he repeatedly calls on his people to remember their past as sojourners and to treat the aliens among them accordingly.  “The strangers who sojourn with you shall be to you as the natives among you, and you shall love them as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Leviticus 19:33-34). Throughout the Old Testament, God repeats the command to love the alien just as he himself does (Deuteronomy 10:18), and makes clear his desire for us to emulate his special concern for the foreign-born who, along with orphans and widows, are recognized as particularly vulnerable (Psalm 146:9, Zechariah 7:10).

In the New Testament, Jesus helped define our neighbors for us in the Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37).  He tells of an individual who encounters and serves a migrant, presumably of a different culture, in need—and he commands us to “go and do likewise.”  Jesus also tells his followers to welcome the stranger (Matthew 25:35) when he says, “what you do to the least of my brethren, you do unto me” (Matthew 25:40). These biblical principles can help guide us as we consider how to treat immigrants today, both on a personal and societal level.

Throughout the history of the United States, immigration has brought out our best hopes and worst fears.  While we tend to romanticize immigration of an earlier era, immigrants today are immigrating for the same reasons our ancestors came to the United States: provision and protection for their families, religious freedom, and hope for a better future.  George Washington, in the earliest days of our country, wanted to create a welcoming society “open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions.”  However, immigration has also always caused fear among others, even as far back as the pre-colonial era: Benjamin Franklin, for example, had concerns about Germans assimilating in Pennsylvania, a colony founded by the English, and doubted whether the Germans could adopt the English’s language and customs.

Our history teaches us that immigrants who were once feared and thought to be unable to assimilate are now embraced as Americans with deep roots in this country.  Thus, we must not be driven by a spirit of fear that produces a hardness of heart, but rather we must extend grace and a welcoming spirit to the immigrants who live in our communities. Although it may be uncomfortable at first, we need to get to know our new immigrant neighbors; as we do so, we find how eager they are to become Americans and contribute to our society.  We can be sure that in these interactions, fears and differences will fade, and each person will be recognized as “endowed by their Creator” with a dignity that transcends earthly circumstance.

Impact on the Body of Christ

Many evangelical Christians care about immigration reform because immigration is an issue directly affecting the body of Christ in the United States.  Immigrants are joining evangelical congregations faster than any other group of people.  According to Scripture, all followers of Jesus are part of one Body, the church, and each part is indispensable. In Colossians 3:11, it says that “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”

Willow Creek has a sizeable portion of undocumented immigrant members who are working diligently in the U.S. to provide for their families, but because of their legal status are not able to fully integrate into their communities and are often exploited because they don’t have a voice with which to speak.

One couple in our church, Lisa and Robert*, have been faithful members of Willow Creek for years.  Lisa is a U.S. citizen, born and raised in Lake Forest, IL while Robert is originally from Mexico and immigrated to the United States to work and provide for his family back in Mexico.  When they became friends, fell in love, and decided they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, Lisa knew that Robert was undocumented in the United States. That bothered her—she had always held the common view that people wanting to immigrate to the U.S. “should just wait in line and pay the fees and do it the right way”—but she loved Robert for who he was and thought that his situation could be rectified with enough time and money.

The truth is that Robert had tried to immigrate the legal way, but given his personal circumstances and the current state of U.S. immigration laws, there was no legal option for him to do so.  So why did he cross the border?  Because he had grown up in a one-room house that he and his dad built out of cardboard, and he had haunting memories of waking in the morning to hear his mother cry because she had no food to give her children.  As a young man he wanted to work to help his family survive but he was unable to find a job in Mexico.  Going to the U.S. to work seemed like his only option.

Lisa describes their lives together as increasingly difficult because Robert can’t drive for fear he will be pulled over; although he came here specifically to work, not being able to drive limits his work opportunities. For eleven years, Robert has not seen his parents who are still living in Mexico. Lisa, heart-broken that her husband cannot see his family, once talked with Robert’s dad. He told her that though he misses Robert terribly, he has greater peace and happiness knowing his son is surviving at a distance, rather than perishing right in front of him.  Lisa, now one of the many faces of undocumented immigration, says, “No one would choose this if there was any other way.”   For Robert, and for many other undocumented immigrants, desperation is why they came—and why they stay.

Hector and Gabby are two wonderful immigrants from Mexico who lead our Spanish-speaking congregation, Casa de Luz—Spanish for House of Light.  Hector and Gabby and their children came here legally several years ago on religious worker visas and God has used them in amazing ways to minister to members of our church.  Unfortunately, this summer their visa renewals were inexplicably denied.  Prior to this decision, immigration officials visited our church to make sure it was, in fact, a church—which, of course, it is.  Then they met with our human resources director to confirm that Hector was, in fact, on our pastoral staff—which he is.  Yet, in the end, they denied the visas.  We are appealing this decision and it seems inconceivable that these wonderful people who are serving so faithfully will be deported.  But we have to face this reality: our congregation may lose Hector and Gabby.  They, along with Lisa and Robert, are just two examples of the many families in our church who are praying for immigration reform.

My husband and I are grieved by the fear and uncertainty dominating the lives of hundreds of wonderful undocumented immigrants in our church congregation, as well as thousands in our community. These people touch our lives when they become clients of our Care Center, which provides food and other services to low-income individuals throughout our community.  These stories and many others reveal a broken immigration policy that does not live up to who we are as a country.

God has entrusted the church with the mission of making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20).  Through immigration, “all nations” have entered our churches and become part of us.  Whatever our cultural differences, we are united as one body in Christ.  1 Corinthians 12:12-26 says that when one part of the body suffers, we all suffer together.  As we have listened to our immigrant brothers and sisters in order to understand how our immigration system is affecting them, we have heard their suffering and we must share their suffering.

As a result of the broken immigration system, we have undocumented immigrants in our communities.  They are us.  They are our fellow evangelical brothers and sisters in Christ, with the same desires and motivations that we have.  While the church has begun the work of integrating these members into our society, we can and must do better—and we will do better.  And we call on all Americans and all U.S. policy-makers to do better.
Principles for Immigration Reform

As we get deeper into the immigration issue, we see that there are fundamental problems in our nation’s immigration system: structural issues that perpetuate illegal immigration, keep families separated for years and sometimes decades, and inhibit immigrant integration.

We seek to follow the example of Jesus—who intervenes on our behalf—and to be His ambassadors in the world (2 Corinthians 5:20).  Thus, we wish to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves” (Proverbs 31:8), which includes those who are often unheard in our political system because they are not citizens and cannot vote. While we recognize that everyone must submit to the governing authorities (Romans 13), we must also recognize that laws were created for the well-being of human beings and society.  As we seek to reform our immigration laws we must ask if our current laws are leading to a better society.  If they are not, they must be changed—and our democracy invites us to participate in this change.

When considering immigration reform, we must continue to emphasize the importance of family as a foundational building block around which society is ordered and developed.  Families are the unit in society in which individuals can experience the love that God has for them.  A broken immigration system leads to broken families and relegates decent people to the fringes of society.  We need to champion an immigration system that prioritizes family unity and provides a means for separated families to be reunited.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform should also create tangible ways for new immigrants to migrate legally, and for undocumented immigrants to right the wrong of having entered or overstayed their visas unlawfully.  Many undocumented immigrants in the U.S. want to do the right thing, but current law provides no mechanism for them to do so.  As followers of Christ, we believe in the power of redemption and restitution; we believe that those who have been on the wrong path must admit their infraction, but should then be given the option to choose the right path.  Such reform would allow well-meaning immigrants to become fully integrated members of our society.

We realize that even while we are advocating for Comprehensive Immigration Reform some families will end up being deported.  We want to help them return to vibrant communities where they will be received with open arms.  To that end, we continue to build long-lasting relationships with viable, holistic communities and churches in other countries so that any immigrant family members who are deported will be welcomed into a supportive environment where they can become the full person that God has designed them to be.  In addition to standing for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, Willow Creek Community Church commits itself to intentionally building these relationships for the sake of our brothers and sisters who may have to return to their countries of origin.
Throughout the Bible, God calls on His people to honor, protect and restore the full dignity and worth of every human being.  Immigration reform is one way to do just that.
Conclusion

Several partners in a prestigious Chicago law firm attend our church.  Immigration reform was a low priority for them until we asked them to serve in our Care Center by talking with some of the undocumented immigrants who come seeking food.  On a single afternoon they heard story after story of men and women who came to our country to seek a better life for their children but ended up marginalized by a system that does not welcome them.  A single afternoon turned these professional, pragmatic attorneys into outspoken proponents of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.  We believe that most Americans would be similarly moved if they could see the faces of immigration as we have seen them.
Immigration reform is a morally complex issue with the potential to ignite many fears and misunderstandings.  But throughout the history of this nation, America has risen to many such challenges. One of our greatest strengths has been our ability to unite through our differences. Welcoming the stranger into our society can mark with distinction our national character and identity, and can test our deepest truths—that we are greater because of our diversity and that we are stronger because of our willingness to treat the least among us with dignity and respect.

We have learned that many undocumented immigrants share our values and are vibrant believers in our shared faith.  Many have taught us deep lessons about what it means to be fully dependent on God for our needs; others have been models of graceful hospitality who have challenged us to be more hospitable people.  We have benefited from having them in our midst, and we are deeply grieved when they are dehumanized by a broken system or demonized by the careless words of those who don’t see their worth.

We ask all Americans to engage in this debate with civility and respect.  And we pray that our leaders will have godly wisdom regarding this issue.

Bill and I are committed to immigration reform and hope that it will pass Congress soon.

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the individuals in these stories.