A Few Thoughts on ImmigrationAs a young elementary school age boy growing up in the foothills of southern Indiana, I recall an annual undertaking with my father beginning in late Spring through Summer

A Few Thoughts on Immigration

As a young elementary school age boy growing up in the foothills of southern Indiana, I recall an annual undertaking with my father beginning in late Spring through Summer which my father termed recruiting “work hands” for harvesting bales of hay and cutting and housing full grown tobacco plants. Both jobs involved working in the heat of the day with heavy lifting, squatting, and with any facial or arm skin irritated when exposed to the harsh elements of the sun and the crops being harvested. Not an easy gig!

My father and I would get in the truck and visit areas of the community (pool halls, taverns, and ball fields) where my father believed we might find capable strong young men interested in the work. Even in the 1960s and early 1970s this recruitment was a difficult undertaking. The work was difficult, and every dollar received was well earned. To no surprise, there were not many guys interested in the work. I vividly recall the stress and disappointment on my father’s face when his entreaty for work was regularly rejected by young men. I know other farmers had the same challenge and experienced similar frustration. My father was persistent and eventually succeeded in recruiting a full work crew, but it was never easy. Based on the current employment statistics for young men, I would venture to say that there is far less interest today in this type of work.

So why am I writing this type of story now as we arrive at the middle of Summer 2025? There is a good reason. Most any day in the news I hear or read about reports where farmers, home builders, innkeepers, and landscapers are in difficult straits because they do not have sufficient manual labor for their businesses because many of the undocumented migrant workers (predominantly men) are unavailable to work because of either being deported or unwilling to even come to a work site because of fear of deportation. For the record, let me be clear that I unequivocally support the rule of law and find the Biden Administration’s handling of immigration disgraceful. Indeed, a mockery of the rule of law. Any country which forsakes the rule of law and largely allows a wide-open border will reap the deleterious consequences of such a reckless and feckless approach. The tragic murder of Laken Riley by an illegal migrant was not a one-time occurrence. Thankfully, the Trump Administration has taken appropriate steps to address and end the open border policy and shameful neglect of the rule of law.

With all that said, I see a paucity of common sense prevailing now on the immigration issue. To be sure, I am not an immigration lawyer and have no particular expertise on immigration. But as I shared above, I do have some appreciation for the challenges now faced by farmers, landscapers, builders, and innkeepers and would like to share a few thoughts below for consideration by the Trump Administration as well as state and local governments. By no means are these points an exhaustive list of immigration issues which should be considered, but these are the issues I see most often in play.

1. Migrant law breakers and criminals should be deported and should not be provided any type of sanctuary protection by state and local governments. Romans 13:1-4 makes clear the role and responsibility of government to enforce the law and protect its citizens. Sanctuary cities and states are in clear violation of this Scripture. Removing migrant criminals and law breakers from our nation surely falls squarely within this duty of government. One would think this principle is just commonsense and would not be controversial but sadly it is strongly opposed in many progressive circles on the left.

2. I believe that a persuasive case can be made that undocumented migrants who have been in this country for decades and obeyed the laws of our country should be allowed to remain if they continue this law-abiding approach. We are largely talking about individuals who have assimilated very well into their communities and are gainfully employed and pay taxes. Many are civic-minded and faithfully serve in their communities and churches and have children and other family members who are U.S. citizens. Immigration reform legislation could provide that these individuals can be allowed to remain in the U.S. legally if they continue to obey the laws of our country. Many in this category are the so called “Dreamers” who were brought to the U.S. as young children by their parents and have little or no connection with their country of origin. I believe this approach would be consistent with Old Testament Scripture in Leviticus 19:33-34 and Exodus 22:21 regarding the treatment of Sojourners. I know this suggestion will not be popular with many on the right, but I believe this is also commonsense.

3. A special work program should be developed so that famers, landscapers, builders, and inn keepers can continue to retain and employ migrants who are essential in harvesting crops, landscaping, home building, and hospitality related work. Hiring migrants for this type of work rarely denies work opportunities for U.S. citizens since much of this type of work is physically demanding, unskilled manual labor which is largely unappealing to the general population. It is becoming clear that it is difficult if not impossible to fill and staff these positions without the availability of migrant labor and countless small business owners and farmers are disadvantaged as a result. As an aside, I wonder if Stephen Miller, President Trump’s point person on Migrant deportation, has ever owned and operated a farm or a small business of any kind and made a payroll? Give you 3 guesses and the first 2 don’t count!

In summary, in addition to overwhelming support for the rule of law in maintaining a secure border, I believe there is an equally strong consensus for deporting migrant criminals and law breakers. While support for points 2 and 3 above may not have the same level of support, a commonsense case can be made for each from both a business and humanitarian perspective. Could it be that, just a Richard Nixon was the right President to go to China to establish diplomatic relations, Donald Trump is the right President to take the lead in pursuing badly needed Immigration reform legislation? I believe our country would benefit greatly if he did so.

God bless you and thank you for the privilege of your time in reading my blog.