To most people, the 2005 movie “Wedding Crashers” is a lighthearted comedy romp in which two lovelorn bachelors crash weddings to meet women. But imagine the following scenario: At your daughter’s 500-person wedding, a concerned friend informs you that 40 people have crashed the wedding. He then points to numerous tables near the back of the wedding hall where the well-dressed, healthy wedding crashers are awaiting a delicious meal. You make a quick calculation; you’re already on the hook for $33,000 — the average wedding cost in the United States — and you’re aware that an unscheduled wedding appearance costs the hosts upward of $268.
You and your daughter have spent a year planning her dream wedding, and several months mapping out seating arrangements. Will you allow the wedding crashers to stay?
As Jews, we are keenly aware of the need to seek refuge. Burned into our minds are images like those of the hundreds of refugees on the transatlantic ocean liner St. Louis, seeking to escape Hitler, being refused entrance to the United States and Cuba. Instead of being offered a haven from the storm, these Jews were sent back to Europe. This is something real to us, not just an abstract argument.
But when approaching a topic as sensitive as illegal immigration, it is important to keep in mind that policies cannot be based solely on emotion, however sincere. There must be some criteria by which we can confidently evaluate positions and give a thoughtful, critical response. The Torah offers us just such a set of criteria, based on the obligation to treat the stranger fairly and with compassion, balanced by the strong emphasis placed on justice, lawfulness and the moral imperative to uphold the societal structures that ensure peace and prosperity for all.
Deuteronomy 16:20 instructs us: “Justice, justice shall you pursue.” This repetition underscores the paramount importance of establishing and maintaining a just society. Laws are the backbone of order; they are the agreements that bind us together and allow us to live in harmony. When individuals enter and reside in a country illegally, they circumvent the established legal processes designed to maintain fairness and security. Obeying the laws of the nations where individuals reside is a Jewish principle.
Some argue for a laissez-faire approach of dealing with illegal immigrants (estimated between 11 and 30 million) currently residing in the United States. They reference a ‘hands-off’ approach quote from Leviticus 19:34: “The stranger residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were strangers in Egypt.”
However, to understand this verse, we must understand that this particular Hebrew word ‘stranger’ is specifically used to describe a foreigner who fully submits to the customs and culture of their country of refuge. Illegal immigrants are not submitting to the laws of the land – they’re defying them.
The Talmud speaks of a case in which people who refused to accept laws seem to be rewarded. This is objected to on the basis of the principle: ein chotei niskar, the sinner should not be rewarded by law for his misdeed. This is a principle which is found in English and American law as well, and is known as the doctrine of ex turpi causa, meaning, as Lord Mansfield put it, “No court will lend its aid to a man who founds his cause of action upon an immoral or an illegal act.”
The presence of millions of illegal immigrants has numerous impacts on citizens. Their presence generates an economic strain, with public resources such as healthcare, education and social services stretched thin, affecting the quality and availability for citizens who rely on them. Illegal immigrants contribute to job competition, suppressing wages and employment opportunities for low-income citizens. And turning a blind eye to illegal immigration poses challenges to national security for our citizens in matters such as sex trafficking, illegal drug importation and the presence of terrorist elements.
The Jewish value of compassion certainly supports those fleeing harm and seeking asylum. And consideration must be given to the complexity of how to deal with otherwise-law-abiding multigenerational undocumented residents and their children who have lived in this country for decades. However, jumping the line — like crashing a wedding — to avoid a country’s naturalization process is immoral from a Jewish perspective — and unacceptable to a majority of Americans.
Polls conducted by ABC News, The New York Times/Ipsos and others show that respondents favor deporting all illegal immigrants by decisive majorities, ranging from 55% to 64%. It amounts to a national consensus in favor of enforcing the law. Jewish support for deportation of illegal immigrants should not be invalidated by risible comparisons between the plight of illegal immigrants currently in America, who overwhelmingly came for economic reasons, and Jews fleeing for their lives from the Nazis in the 1930s and ’40s.
Former President Ronald Reagan said, “A nation that cannot control its borders is not a nation.” And as former President Theodore Roosevelt said, “Order without liberty and liberty without order are equally destructive.”
Balancing compassion with adherence to the law is essential. Advocating for the deportation of illegal immigrants is not an act of hostility but a traditional Jewish call to preserve justice and the integrity of our legal system. By ensuring that immigration laws are respected, as Jews we honor both our national framework and our spiritual commitment to justice.
