JANUARY 7, 2008



Today begins my day of studying for the UIC Microeconomics Comprehensive Examination. It promises to be a grueling examination, and it's the easier of the two comprehensives (the other being the macroeconomics exam). It's easier because there are less topics to remember.



The part I'm more concerned about is the game theory part of the exam. Now, you might say, "Game theory? How hard can that be? Doesn't sound that way." But trust me-- it's not a piece of cake. Nonetheless, if there's something to be learned from game theory, it's that our decisions affect others. We sometimes make decisions that are self-serving, as if we're all that really matters.



Illegal immigration is one of those. We normally focus on the word illegal. It conjures up images of crooks, deceivers, terrorists, sinners! Where do people who do illegal things go? To jail of course! However, we forget one thing-- illegal immigrants are not statistical figures that figure into a national regression with an R-squared and requisite standard deviations, kurtosi, and other statistical jargon. They are people, and where people are concerned, God has only one thing to say: "love thy neighbors as thyself."



My family were not illegal immigrants. We followed the laws of the great nation of the United States of America, and slowly (but surely) we were granted citizenship. We were quite sure about getting citizenship. After all, we were transferring citizenship from Singapore, and Singapore is one of a very few countries where the U.S. probably wonders why you'd want to emigrate from (low taxes, superb education, excellent social security and healthcare, wonderful to oppressive security). We got the money to go fill out the forms, pay the requisite fees. My parents had us to fill us in on civics 101. Thank God our governor was Jesse "the Body" Ventura, otherwise they wouldn't have gotten it (imagine them saying "Blagojevich"). But my parents were naturalized, and as their kids, we were too. We have U.S. passports and our social security numbers are XXX-XX-XXXX, YYY-YY-YYYY, ZZZ-ZZ-ZZZZ.



But as you well know, my family is not living at or below the poverty line. And from my guesses, your parents were not when they emigrated to the U.S. In short, we can afford to be legal immigrants. Our parents can afford to bring us to the U.S. so we can have access to better education (at least collegiate education) and better living conditions. Our parents choose to emigrate. It's not something that requires life-threatening risk. Your parents just buy plane tickets, arrange for visas, have a home lined up, and voila! Welcome to the United States.



So picture this: you and your parents are not in Naperville, IL, but in Tijuana, Mexico. Your mom is begging in the streets for enough money to buy a bowl of rice to cook for the family. Your dad is a migrant worker in the fields somewhere in, say, Oaxaca. He won't come back for another month or so. That's when he brings back his backbreakingly earned $50 (USD) to feed the family. You can't afford to go to school, so with your broken Spanish, you follow your mom and see if you can be of any help. You look across the US/Mexico border, and see people who live in houses! Children have swings and places to run freely with no worries! Nobody begging at the houses of the wealthy! Now, you're telling me that because of U.S. law, your dad would not risk his life to chance a better life in the U.S.? If your answer is "yes", you're real privileged. Better be thankful.



Now, one solution is to build a fence. I don't know, but our old fence is not working. What makes our new "hi-tech" fence more useful? People will always find a way across the border. I think a wiser solution would be to encourage economic development in Mexico! Ever wonder why the US/Canada border is not so troublesome?



But I leave that to politicians to duke out in the halls of Congress. What I'm concerned about is the Biblical view of illegal immigrants. How should we see them? Easy: they're people. And not just any people. They are people in need. When you see people begging in the streets of Chicago, do you say, "Hey! Don't you know begging is illegal in Chicago?!" No, that sounds downright elitist. You help them. Likewise, if an illegal immigrant knocked on my door going, "Por favor, ayudame!" I'm not going to say, "No, andale!". I am morally obligated first and foremost as a citizen of Heaven to take them home.



Ah... remember-- we are first and foremost citizens of Heaven. We are answerable first and foremost to the Lord God Almighty, whose love is for those He created in His image. He cares little for human institutions.



What then, about illegal immigration rules? First, illegal immigration will not stop as long as there's a huge disequilibrium in economic well-being between the U.S. and Mexico. This issue is not just indigenous to the U.S. Check the North Korea/China or the North Korea/South Korea borders; or the Myanmar/Thailand border. In these situations, there are HUGE economic disequilibria. The only possible solution is economic development on both sides of the border. Here's the problem-- economic development in Mexico will imply economic costs in the U.S. So we now have a prisoner's dilemma where the U.S. either has to contend with illegal immigration, or rising unemployment. Of course, we choose to the former. Why? It's easier to chase immigrants out. It's less easier to improve domestic conditions.



Christians need to stop thinking with the "U.S. first" mindset. The Chinese Christians don't think with the "Communists first" mindset (unless you're a government pastor). Why should we?  We need to think  with a "Christ first" mindset". Theologically, we must be Christocentric, not American. If you want American theology, talk to Joel Osteen or the Hillsong Church. We need to be Christocentric. This implies this: "for what you do to the least of these, you do for Me."