The alien comes to this land to reside.
It's not fair, saith the conservative, that this man enjoys the benefits that come from living in our land, which we provide for out of our taxes and our military service for the good of all who live here. It's a good argument, and therefore the laws are written in such a way that alien is obligated to pay taxes, and to serve if called, and these obligations (and the state machinery for receiving them) are decoupled from the legality of his residence here.
It's not fair, saith the liberal, that this man pays into the common treasury, and serves at our call, yet is not entitled to the benefits that come from these contributions for the common good. It's a good argument, and therefore many (but not all) of the benefits that come from living in our land are made available to the alien. But since it is a good argument, that is the direction things tend to go.
It's not fair, saith the conservative, that this man should be allowed to convert his status from citizen de facto, to citizen de jure, because his coming here was tainted with the original sin of illegality of undocumentation.
At which point, the liberal saith, “This sin, as you call it, you were willing to overlook when it was in your interest to do so—when you wanted lettuce and tomatoes picked, when you wanted taxes for our treasury, when you wanted soldiers to fight in our war. Do you not understand the notion of precedent? Now, having overlooked his so-called sin of undocumentation when it was in your interest to do so, you have an obligation to overlook it when it is in his.” It's a good argument.
And what does the Lord say?
Exodus 12:48 If an alien who resides with you wants to celebrate the passover to the LORD, all his males shall be circumcised; then he may draw near to celebrate it; he shall be regarded as a native of the land.
Leviticus 19:33-34 When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you; you shall love the alien as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.
Numbers 15:29-30 For both the native among the Israelites and the alien residing among them—you shall have the same law for anyone who acts in error. But whoever acts high-handedly, whether a native or an alien, affronts the LORD, and shall be cut off from among the people.
Deuteronomy 24:17 You shall not deprive a resident alien or an orphan of justice; you shall not take a widow’s garment in pledge.
Jeremiah 22:3 Thus says the LORD: Act with justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor anyone who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the alien, the orphan, and the widow, or shed innocent blood in this place.
Malachi 3:5 Then I will draw near to you for judgment; I will be swift to bear witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired workers in their wages, the widow and the orphan, against those who thrust aside the alien, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts.
What did David say?
Psalms 39:12-13 “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and give ear to my cry; do not hold your peace at my tears. For I am your passing guest, an alien, like all my forebears. Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again, before I depart and am no more.”
As David realized, we are all aliens, because this is not our land. It is God's land. And we belong to God's kingdom, not as citizens by birth, but as naturalized resident aliens, through rebirth and adoption.
Peace
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