Author: Brandon Holthaus
The Bakersfield City Council is considering proposals that would move our city toward becoming a sanctuary city. Supporters claim these policies are about compassion and transparency. I disagree. They undermine the rule of law, weaken public safety, and place ideology above the biblical purpose of civil government.
This is not about race.
This is not about hatred toward immigrants.
This is about whether a nation has the right to enforce its own laws.
God-Ordained Government
The Bible is clear that civil government is God’s institution. Romans 13:1–4 teaches that governing authorities are established by God to reward those who do good and punish those who do evil. Government “does not bear the sword in vain.” It exists to maintain order, administer justice, and protect innocent citizens. When government officials intentionally obstruct the enforcement of laws they dislike, they cease fulfilling the role God has assigned to them. That is exactly why sanctuary city policies are so troubling.
Compassion Does Not Cancel Justice
Every person—citizen, legal immigrant, or illegal alien—is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Every person deserves dignity. Every person deserves humane treatment. Every person deserves to hear the Gospel.
But being made in God’s image does not give anyone the right to violate another nation’s laws. America welcomes millions of legal immigrants who follow the established legal process. Illegal immigration is different. A person does not acquire the right to remain in the United States simply because he desires a better life. The Bible never teaches that compassion requires governments to abandon justice.
God Ordained Nations, Languages, and National Boundaries
Another argument frequently ignored in today’s immigration debate is that God Himself ordained the existence of separate nations, languages, and national boundaries. The modern push toward a borderless world is not God’s design—it is man’s and his insistence on a global government.
The first attempt at globalism occurred after the Flood at the Tower of Babel. Rather than obeying God’s command to spread throughout the earth (Genesis 9:1), mankind united under one language, one government, and one centralized civilization in open rebellion against Him.
Genesis 11:4 records their ambition:
“Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves…”
Their goal was not to glorify God but to establish human autonomy and centralized power apart from Him.
God’s response is revealing.
Instead of applauding humanity’s unity, He judged it.
Genesis 11:7–9 says:
“Come, let Us go down and there confuse their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech… So the LORD scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth…”
At Babel, God deliberately created different languages and scattered mankind into separate nations and peoples. The diversity of nations was not an accident of history—it was an act of divine judgment and God’s sovereign ordering of humanity. God intentionally prevented a one-world civilization because fallen mankind united apart from Him only produces greater rebellion.
This principle is reaffirmed in Acts 17:26:
“And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings.”
Notice what Paul says.
God established:
nations
boundaries
and the times of their existence.
National borders, therefore, are not merely political inventions. They are part of God’s providential ordering of the world. Likewise, Scripture never teaches that all nations should dissolve into one borderless global society. In fact, Bible prophecy teaches the opposite. The final one-world government under the Antichrist (Revelation 13) represents the culmination of humanity’s rebellion against God—a revival of the same spirit first manifested at Babel.
This does not mean Christians reject people from other nations. Quite the opposite. Every person is made in God’s image and is worthy of dignity, respect, and the opportunity to hear the Gospel. One day, heaven itself will include redeemed people “of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues” worshiping before the throne of Christ (Revelation 7:9).
But loving people from every nation is not the same as erasing the distinctions God Himself established among the nations. God loves every nation. He also ordained that nations exist.
Therefore, a nation’s right to maintain secure borders, regulate immigration, preserve public order, and determine who may lawfully enter is entirely consistent with God’s design for civil government and the world He created.
Acts 17:26 declares that God established the nations and “the boundaries of their dwellings.” God created nations. God established borders. God delegated authority to governments.
A nation therefore possesses both the legal and moral authority to determine who may lawfully enter its borders and under what conditions they may remain. That principle is not unbiblical. It is biblical.
The Sojourner Lived Under the Law
Many ignorantly point to God’s commands regarding the stranger as a basis for treating illegal aliens as U.S. citizens with Constitutional rights.
However, those passages are often misunderstood and taken out of context. The foreigner living in Israel was welcomed, protected, and treated fairly. But he was not exempt from Israel’s laws. The “stranger had to function properly in Israel’s theocracy, which meant he could not bring in foreign gods, he had to obey all the laws, and he had to learn the language.
Leviticus 24:22 says:
“You shall have the same law for the stranger and for one from your own country.”
The foreigner lived under the law—not outside of it. Scripture never commands civil government to ignore violations of its own laws in the name of compassion.
Sanctuary Policies Endanger Communities
Sanctuary city policies frequently limit cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities. When local governments refuse lawful ICE detainer requests involving criminal illegal aliens, dangerous offenders are released into the community instead of being transferred safely into federal custody. That forces federal officers to locate and arrest them later in neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, or homes.
This creates greater danger for:
innocent citizens
local communities
and law enforcement officers
The government’s first obligation is protecting law-abiding citizens. Policies that knowingly increase public risk fail that responsibility. The tragic consequences of failed immigration enforcement are no longer hypothetical. Americans have watched innocent people lose their lives because dangerous individuals who entered the country illegally were allowed to remain here.
Laken Riley was brutally murdered by an illegal alien who had previously been encountered and released by immigration authorities. More recently, an illegal immigrant from India, Jashanpreet Singh, pleaded guilty to three counts of vehicular manslaughter after his semi-truck plowed into stopped traffic on Interstate 10 in Southern California, killing three innocent people. The case raised additional concerns because he had entered the United States illegally and was operating a commercial truck despite questions surrounding his legal status and licensing.
These are not isolated statistics; they are shattered families, grieving spouses, and lives that can never be restored. While the overwhelming majority of people are not violent criminals, government has a God-given responsibility to protect its citizens by enforcing the law and removing those who pose a danger to society. Romans 13 reminds us that civil authorities are “God’s ministers” to punish evil and protect those who do good. When that responsibility is neglected, innocent people often bear the cost.
The Rule of Law Matters
America cannot remain a nation governed by laws if elected officials selectively decide which laws deserve enforcement. The rule of law cannot survive when political ideology determines which statutes are ignored. If people think immigration laws are unjust, then Congress has the constitutional authority to change them. Until then, public officials have a duty to enforce them. However, I personally believe they need to be made stricter if we are going to maintain a Western society, but that will never happen. No politician has the will to do it.
Politics Has Overtaken Immigration.
Immigration policy has become one of the most politically divisive issues in America as of late because the Democratic Party sees the potential votes in it. Many Americans witness the evidence that sanctuary policies, opposition to immigration enforcement, and repeated efforts to expand legal status for those who entered unlawfully are not driven by humanitarian concerns but by long-term political considerations.
This is why immigration and illegal immigration have become deeply intertwined with the Democratic party. Unfortunately, the toxic compassion where politicians love illegal aliens more than they do citizens is not going to stop since they look to secure their power through votes.
Christians need to wake up! This is not about compassion but has political motivations. This political maneuvering keeps these leftist politicians from carrying out the responsibilities God has assigned to them.
Bakersfield and Every City Should Reject Sanctuary City Policies
Bakersfield and all American cities at one time valued public safety, respect for law enforcement, and personal responsibility. Those values should not change.
We should continue treating every person with dignity because every human being bears God’s image. But compassion must never become an excuse for refusing to uphold justice.
Mercy and justice belong together.
Psalm 89:14 reminds us:
“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; Mercy and truth go before Your face.”
Bakersfield and all American cities should reject sanctuary city policies, support cooperation with lawful federal immigration enforcement, and reaffirm its commitment to the rule of law. A city that refuses to enforce the law ultimately harms the very people it claims to protect.
True compassion does not ignore justice.
It walks hand in hand with it.