As I wrote on Friday, the left loves to use Christian "compassion" as a way to manipulate the faithful into siding with them, and even use scripture to try to fool Christians into siding with the left, even if tentatively. Complicating the right's progress is good enough, even if they can't stop it outright. 

(READ: I'm All Out of 'Compassion')

Another thing I recently wrote about was the fact that radical leftists will often disguise themselves as people in authoritative positions in order to sell agendas to people who look up to them. This often happens most egregiously in religion, where someone may don a title and dress the part before beating people over the head with politically charged nonsense, and misusing scripture to do so. 

(READ: The Many Masks of Radical Leftists)

I recommend you read those two articles, as both feed into what I'm about to discuss here. 

As you can see, Father James Martin took to X to remind Christians that Jesus was a refugee too and that Christians are called to care for refugees and migrants. 

Don't forget that Jesus was once a refugee. So were Mary and Joseph. pic.twitter.com/iVjIYgpz5D

— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) January 27, 2025

It's the same argument you've seen time and again, only this time. This is hardly the first time this argument has come up, and I debunked this claim already: 

However, one thing that goes completely overlooked or ignored is that, at that time, Judea and Egypt (then known as Aegyptus) were all within the borders of the Roman empire. Both countries were occupied land under Ceaser, and even though Herod was King of Judea, he ruled on behalf of Ceasar. Jesus and His family, while provincial citizens, were what we would consider Roman nationals who paid taxes to Rome though they weren’t necessarily citizens of the Roman state. Fleeing to Egypt, then under the personal control of Augustus himself, was on par to moving from New York and into Texas.

While it could be considered migration to move from one state to another, it’s hardly the international journey leftists would like it to be. Jesus and his family were Roman nationals moving from one Roman country to another. They were not aliens in the legal sense, and it was perfectly legal to travel from one Roman province to another. In fact, Egypt had a vibrant Jewish community at the time.

An “immigrant” Jesus was not, at least not in the way the left would have you picture it, with Joseph and Mary banging down the doors of some unjustly constructed wall, pleading for the mercy of a foreign state to allow them into their lands.

(READ: No, Jesus Was Not a Refugee or an Illegal Immigrant)

I can do this all day. 

To be fair, Martin does address this in his video, with his defense being "give me a break," before saying Mary and Joseph didn't consider Egypt their homeland. He's not wrong on a microscale, but he's not right because Jesus and his family never left Roman territory. They just left Herod's jurisdiction. They were not "refugees" in the modern sense, which is being sold by people like Martin. 

Moreover, it should be pointed out that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph didn't travel into Egypt illegally, which is at the core of Trump's issues with many of the migrants here right now, many of whom are violent criminals. 

Martin, if he's an intelligent man, knows this. Moreover, given his position and title, he should know better. 

If we're going to argue theologically, then let's remember some things. 

Firstly, nuance is key. Leftists love to confuse legal and illegal migrants with one another. This makes it easy for them to sell the idea of the right being xenophobic racists, as they can just say "Republicans are kicking out migrants" without having to specify which ones. As it's been made very clear, the Trump administration is kicking out illegal immigrants, and specifically starting with those who have been proven to be violent criminals. 

“Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it.” - Numbers 35:33

Many of the violent criminals, who came here illegally, pollute the hell out of the land with crime and violence. Is Martin going to mention that? I doubt it, but let's continue. 

Trump is doing exactly what he should be doing with those criminals, and it's backed by the Bible: 

“For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” - Romans 13:3-4

You're going to see many leftists argue that illegal immigrants who have committed no crimes here aren't doing anything wrong, but they have. They did wrong the moment they came here illegally. They might not be violent criminals, but they are criminals nonetheless, and as such, our laws have to be respected. 

I want to reiterate that if these people truly are wanting to come here for a better life and obey our laws, then by all means, feel free to apply for citizenship and go through the process. However, it needs to be understood that becoming a citizen means you've left loyalties to your former homeland behind, which is a problem that illegal citizenship brings with it. They want to take advantage of American prosperity while waving the flag of their real homeland, and that's not going to fly. 

Christians are called to help the needy. That is true, however we're also called to uphold justice. Breaking the law requires justice. 

These are the nuances that people like Martin want Christians to overlook, but Christians aren't stupid. A person doesn't get special privileges to break the law because they're not from around here. Saying "I'm a refugee" doesn't make criminality okay.

Christians of all stripes have to, at some point, choose between their politics and God, but too often the left wants Christians to think they're choosing God by following leftist politics. It's bad enough when it comes from people who openly denounce and insult God on a regular basis, but it's absolutely horrible when it's done by a person who sits in a position of religious authority. 

I don't claim to be a Bible expert, but I do know two things. Firstly, I understand the importance of nuance in any given socio-political argument, and two, I know how to use a web browser. Trying to sell a lie about the Bible is much harder than it used to be.