They Are Us: Lutherans and Immigration.

Beck, John H.

They Are Us: Lutherans and Immigration

Stephen Bouman and Ralston Deffenbaugh

Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress Press, 2009 (144 pages)

In They Are Us, Stephen Bouman and Ralston Deffenbaugh offer a perspective on immigration that focuses on stories that are part of the heritage of Lutherans in America. In the first chapter, they highlight scriptural narratives that Lutherans share with all Christians, emphasizing the biblical mandate to care for strangers and aliens. In the second chapter, they focus on stories of Lutheran immigration to America, from Swedish colonists in the 1600s to the establishment of the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service in 1939 to assist Lutheran refugees fleeing first the Nazis and later the turmoil following World War II. The sixth and seventh chapters recount stories of more recent ministries to immigrants by Lutheran congregations.

Bracketed by these stories are three chapters dealing with public policy toward immigration: chapter 3 provides a brief history of immigration policy in the United States, chapter 4 outlines problems with current policy, and chapter 5 suggests values to guide policy reforms.

While calling the church to a ministry of hospitality to immigrants individually, the authors do not neglect the responsibility of the church to advocate for reform of immigration policy. However, the book's advocacy of policy reform is unsatisfactory in two respects.

First, if the church is going to engage in public policy discussions with people who do not share Christian beliefs, it should not base its arguments solely on religious principles. Christians engaging in policy discussions need to make arguments that will appeal to nonbelievers. In particular, many concerns about immigration involve economics, but this book fails to discuss economics beyond noting that immigrants are often motivated by the desire to improve the economic well-being of their families. Winning the argument for immigration reform requires that American citizens understand that, although there are costs associated with immigration and these costs may fall more heavily on some than on others, the potential overall benefits to Americans from immigration outweigh those costs. As a Lutheran economist, I find that Andrew Yuengert's book that combines economic analysis with Roman Catholic teachings (Inhabiting the Land, 2003) provides a better basis for Christians who are engaging in the public debate over immigration policy.

Second, applying the criteria suggested in the fifth chapter for evaluating reform proposals may result in the best becoming the enemy of the good. For example, Bouman and Deffenbaugh take the position that "any immigration reform should provide a path to permanent status and citizenship for persons who put down roots in America and want to become contributing members of society" (79). That is an ideal that is shared by this reviewer.

However, if that implies that as a matter of political strategy advocates of immigration reform should oppose expanding guest worker programs and insist on the ideal of increasing the number of permanent resident visas, the practical result may be that any opportunities for would-be immigrants to improve their well-being by working in the United States will be reduced.

Lant Pritchett points out that countries with the highest proportions of foreign-born workers such as Singapore and the Persian Gulf states do not treat citizens and foreign-born workers equally (Let Their People Come, 2006). While such discrimination is offensive, the foreign-born workers stay in those countries voluntarily and would certainly be worse off if they were denied access to those labor markets. Demands that foreign-born workers and citizens be treated equally may result in restrictions on international labor mobility that leave those born in foreign countries worse off.

In his foreword to this book, Martin Marty writes, "'politics' knows the dirty secret of history: violence. Politics is an effort through give-and-take, argument, winning-some-and-losing-some, and compromise to minimize the violence of history" (xiii). Restrictions on international labor mobility are enforced by government coercion. As Christians engage in politics to reduce this coercion and to expand opportunities for mutually beneficial migration, they must be willing to compromise ideals and to use economic analysis to support their arguments.

--John H. Beck (e-mail: beck@jepson.gonzaga.edu)

Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington