What does the Bible say about immigrants?
The Bible speaks clearly and repeatedly about immigrants, often referred to in Scripture as “sojourners,” “foreigners,” or “aliens.” These are not passing references, but deeply theological statements tied to Israel’s covenantal identity and moral obligations. The treatment of immigrants is not simply a social justice concern—it is a spiritual matter that reflects the heart of God and His redemptive purposes for the world.
This article will explore what the Bible teaches about immigrants, focusing on the Old Testament law, prophetic witness, and New Testament implications for the people of God today. It will also explore how this theme connects to the Gospel and the broader vision of God’s kingdom.
1. God Commands Justice and Compassion for Immigrants
One of the clearest statements in the Bible regarding immigrants is found in Exodus 22:21:
“You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt.”
Here, God connects Israel’s moral obligation to their own national memory. The Israelites knew firsthand what it was like to live as vulnerable outsiders under Pharaoh’s oppression. That experience was meant to generate empathy, not superiority. Mistreatment of immigrants was so serious that God threatened judgment against any who violated this command.
Leviticus 19:33-34 echoes the same:
“When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself.”
In this way, the Bible grounds its ethic toward immigrants in covenant memory and theological reflection. Immigrants are not to be treated as outsiders or burdens, but with the same dignity and protection as native-born citizens.
2. Israel's Identity as Immigrants on God's Land
A profound biblical theme is that Israel themselves were called “immigrants” before God. In Leviticus 25:23, God says, “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.”
This theological framing reminds Israel that even their possession of the Promised Land is not ultimate ownership—it is a stewardship under divine authority. In other words, all Israelites were immigrants in a land that ultimately belongs to God. This humbled posture was meant to shape how they treated others, especially those most vulnerable.
The Bible doesn’t ignore the reality that immigrants face difficulty—economic instability, social isolation, and legal disadvantage. Rather, it calls God’s people to respond to those challenges with justice, mercy, and welcome.
3. God Judges Nations for Their Mistreatment of Immigrants
The prophetic books frequently mention God’s anger toward nations who exploit or abuse immigrants. For example, Malachi 3:5 lists those God will judge:
“Against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me.”
The Bible places the immigrant alongside the widow and orphan—those most vulnerable in ancient society. Ignoring their plight or treating them unjustly is not just a civil failure, but a spiritual rebellion. God holds nations and leaders accountable for how they treat immigrants because such treatment reflects the nation’s alignment—or misalignment—with His character.
The prophetic witness of Scripture is consistent: when a nation devalues the foreigner, it has forgotten God.
4. Jesus and the Expansion of the Gospel Family
In the New Testament, the category of “stranger” is no longer merely an ethnic or political status—it becomes a theological category for those outside the covenant. Jesus Himself was a refugee in Egypt as a child (Matthew 2:13–15), identifying with the displaced and threatened.
Even more, Christ breaks down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 2:14), forming one new humanity in Himself. This new family—the church—is marked by welcome, not exclusion. Hebrews 13:2 reminds believers:
“Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
The church is to be a people of radical welcome because we were once spiritual outsiders, brought near by the blood of Christ. In this sense, the Gospel reframes immigration as a spiritual metaphor: we were once aliens to the kingdom of God, but now we are citizens through Christ.
5. The Future Kingdom Welcomes People from All Nations
The Bible ends not with national boundaries, but with a redeemed people from “every tribe and language and people and nation” (Revelation 5:9). The eschatological hope is one of inclusion and reconciliation—not exclusion and nationalism.
In the new creation, there will be no immigrants because there will be no outsiders. All who belong to Christ will find eternal belonging in the kingdom of God. Until that day, the church is called to embody that future reality by welcoming the outsider, protecting the vulnerable, and seeing the image of God in every immigrant.
Conclusion: A Gospel-Shaped Vision for Immigrants
The Bible’s teaching on immigrants is not peripheral—it is deeply rooted in God’s character, Israel’s history, and the church’s mission. From Genesis to Revelation, God reveals His heart for the outsider, calls His people to reflect His mercy, and demonstrates that citizenship in His kingdom is not defined by geography but by grace.
A Gospel-shaped people will not merely tolerate immigrants—they will honor them, care for them, and welcome them as fellow image-bearers and potential co-heirs with Christ. The church, in reflecting God's justice and mercy, proclaims the bigger Gospel: that the kingdom of God is gathering in the strangers and making them family.
Bible verses about immigrants:
Exodus 22:21, “You must not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.”
Leviticus 19:33-34, “When a foreigner resides with you in your land, you must not oppress him. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”
Deuteronomy 10:18-19, “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing. You also must love the foreigner, since you were foreigners in the land of Egypt.”
Leviticus 24:22, “You are to have the same standard of law for the foreign resident and the native, for I am the Lord your God.”
Jeremiah 7:6, “If you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless, or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place or follow other gods, harming yourselves…”
Zechariah 7:10, “Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the foreigner or the poor, and do not plot evil in your hearts against one another.”
Malachi 3:5, “I will come to you in judgment… against those who oppress the hired worker, the widow, and the fatherless, and deprive the foreigner of justice, and do not fear Me,” says the Lord of Hosts.”
Psalm 146:9, “The Lord protects foreigners and helps the fatherless and the widow, but He frustrates the ways of the wicked.”
Matthew 25:35, “For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in…”
Hebrews 13:2, “Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it.”
