Obama Receives Criticism and Support for Bible Reference In Immigration Speech
During his Thursday speech announcing a new immigration policy, President Barack Obama quoted a verse from the Bible that spoke on the importance of welcoming one's neighbor.
While speaking during the nationally-broadcasted address, the president briefly quoted a Scripture verse from the Book of Exodus, 23:9, that reads: "Scripture tells us we shall not oppress a stranger for we know the heart of a stranger — we were strangers once, too."
The president's use of Scripture to describe immigration reform has received both applause and condemnation from different corners of the immigration debate.
As The Washington Times reports, Charles Krauthammer, a columnist and political commentator for Fox News, recently said on the media outlet that he found the president's religious reference to be "remarkable."
"I find the president's audacity here rather remarkable," Krauthammer said told Fox News hosts on Thursday.
"Well, if you felt so strongly about the issue, why [...] delay announcing this until he got past the election? Because he knew it would damage Democrats' chances in the election," Krauthammer said on Fox News, according to The Washinton Times. "If he feels so strongly [...] and Scripture dictates this ought to be done, why did he do nothing about this in 2009 and 2010 when he had control of the Congress [...] when he could have done this constitutionally?"
However, others have voiced their support for the President's immigration plan and his use of scripture in the speech.
Kristi Burton Brown, a pro-life advocate and attorney for Alliance Defending Freedom, wrote in an Op-Ed for The Christian Post that she agrees with the president's connection between the Bible and welcoming immigrants into the U.S.
"Scripture supports the good treatment of immigrants," Brown wrote, adding "Certainly, we must have a balance between national security, the interests of our own people, and the interests of the immigrants who enter. But, whatever course of action we choose in dealing with illegal immigrants, we must deliberately treat them well. This also means we must stop talking about them like they're not equal and valuable people."
