An Immigrant’s View of Immigration
By someone who did it the right way—and still believes in grace
I didn’t come to America fleeing war or poverty. I came on an E-1 visa, as a young engineering graduate from England, having worked my way through college on what was then a first-of-its-kind flexible manufacturing system: the Molins System 24. When IBM bought the project and relocated it to Rochester, Minnesota, I came with it—on the understanding that I’d stay two years.
But two years turned into a lifetime.
I didn’t just fall in love with America. I fell in love with Americans—especially the salt-of-the-earth, heartland kind. There was something about their honesty, their work ethic, their decency. I knew I didn’t want to leave. So I applied for a green card. I stayed on that green card for many years—legally, responsibly, and gratefully.
But one night on St. Croix, something changed.
I had stopped for a quick drink on my way home. There was a man from Louisiana, loud and obnoxious, bad-mouthing the very country that had given him the freedom to speak so freely. He tore into America as if it had never done a good thing for anyone. I could only take so much. Eventually, I let him know exactly how I felt—and then I left.
What stuck with me wasn’t the argument. It was the realization that I had no real standing. I was still a permanent resident—not a citizen. I had built a life here, worked here, paid taxes here, contributed—but in that moment, I felt like a guest at someone else’s table.
The next morning, I was first in line at the INS office, applying for citizenship.
Doing Things the Right Way
That’s why I care so deeply about immigration—not as a politician, but as someone who walked the long, slow, honest path to becoming an American.
I believe in doing things the right way. I believe in borders, in laws, and in the dignity of following the process, even when it’s hard. And yes, it frustrates me when people bypass that process and expect the same privileges without the same effort.
But I also believe something else.
Justice and Grace Can Coexist
As a Christian, I can’t just see people as problems to be solved or laws to be enforced. I have to see them as souls. I believe in justice—but I also believe in grace.
I know there are immigrants who abuse the system. But I also know there are immigrants who are desperate, who’ve been lied to, who came here chasing hope. Maybe they did it the wrong way—but that doesn’t make them beyond God’s reach or beneath my compassion.
The Bible doesn’t give us a pass on law. But it doesn’t give us a pass on mercy either.
The Church Has a Role
You can support secure borders and still love the foreigner in your midst. You can believe in strong laws and still reach out a hand to someone trying to find their way.
We are citizens of nations—but more importantly, we are citizens of Heaven. That means we don’t have to choose between truth and love. In Christ, we can hold both.
A Final Thought
I came here legally. I became a citizen proudly. And I still believe in doing things the right way.
But I also believe that every person who crosses our border—legally or illegally—is known by God, loved by God, and worth more than a headline or a label.
The challenge isn’t just at the border. The challenge is in our hearts.
Will we respond like citizens? Or like Christ?