4 Things the Census Debate Reveals about Immigration, Identity, and the Image of God
During his first term in the White House, President Trump described illegal immigration as follows: “Illegal immigration affects the lives of all Americans. Illegal immigration hurts American workers; burdens American taxpayers; and undermines public safety; and places enormous strain on local schools, hospitals, and communities in general, taking precious resources away from the poorest Americans who need them most. Illegal immigration costs our country billions and billions of dollars each year…Therefore, I will take every lawful action at my disposal to address this crisis. And that’s what we’re doing,” according to White House.gov.
During President Trump’s second term, the immigration debate has become a hot-button topic among family members, friends, and even Christians. Many issues and questions have been raised about how to handle immigration and what to do about illegal immigration.
1. Why Intent and Motives Matter in Connection to Immigration
While it is possible for immigrants who are not yet citizens to collect benefits, they are usually immigrants who are in America legally and are paying into America’s tax and benefits systems. They may be here on an immigrant visa. They don’t have the intention of invading the country or doing harm to Americans. In many cases, they recognize all the opportunities that America offers and perhaps have their own American dream. They’re here to build it and live it out.
Unfortunately, there are illegal immigrants who are connected to drug cartels, human trafficking, and other types of evil. These are the ones that President Trump had in mind when he released an Executive Order back in January entitled, “Guaranteeing The States Protection Against Invasion,” and included a “Direction to immediately repel, repatriate, and remove illegal aliens involved in invasion.”
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2. Results of DHS and ICE in Protecting the American People
This Executive Order was especially aimed at stopping the flow of illegal aliens across the U.S. southern border. Just a few of the results from this Executive Order, as reported by DHS.gov, include 300,000 illegal aliens were arrested in 2025 alone, and 70 percent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests are criminal illegal aliens with criminal charges or convictions. A few other positive results of many include a 93 percent decline in daily border encounters, ICE and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have located more than 10,000 unaccompanied children, migrants are turning back before they ever reach the U.S. border, and migration through Panama’s Darien Gap has declined 99 percent.
Another item worth mentioning is that when Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill passed, it included $46.5 billion to finish building the border wall for the purpose of helping to protect America and its citizens, and $5 billion for new technology and border surveillance.
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3. Trump’s Attempt to Protect Social Security for American Citizens
President Trump also signed a Presidential Memorandum aimed at ending social security payments to illegal immigrants and “other ineligible people.” Social security was another area audited by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Some of those “ineligible people” included 7 million accounts belonging to individuals who were over 120 years old and no longer alive, according to ABC News.
Trump also blames the previous administration for providing Social Security Numbers to more than 2 million illegal aliens during the 2024 fiscal year alone. In addition to that number, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR) estimates that about a million more illegal aliens have acquired a stolen identification or fraudulent Social Security number, according to WhiteHouse.gov.
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4. How Including Immigrants in the Census Shifts the Governmental Balance of Power
Benefits such as social security, healthcare, education, and other offerings in the federal and state systems are paid for with the tax dollars of those who are here legally. Having the right to vote and influence the direction of the nation belongs to American citizens because they will typically be more directly impacted by government policy. Allowing all immigrants to vote shifts the balance of power in favor of the Democrat Party, according to the Center for Immigration Studies.
However, the study doesn’t indicate how that could change the outcome if legal immigrants could vote while illegal ones could not. For some states, including legal immigrants while excluding illegal ones in the census shifts the balance of power in favor of the Republican Party because legal immigrants tend to vote in favor of the Republican Party and its policies, according to Pew Research.
This doesn’t make noncitizens any less of a person formed in the image of God than citizens or even any less loved by God. Immigrants who are in America with the proper intent and motives should be treated with kindness and even respect. But that’s a different situation from those here with the wrong intent and motives. To put this in a smaller context, if an unwelcome stranger were to disarm your home security system, break down the door of your home, started rearranging your furniture, eating the food in your refrigerator, did things in your home that went against your values, and claimed your hard earned valuables and belongings as their own to steal them from you, you wouldn’t think of them as a house guest.
Related Resource: The “Miracle” That Brought Tim Scott to the Senate
Pastor Greg Laurie sits down with Senator Tim Scott for a candid conversation about faith, perseverance, and leadership in one of the most influential arenas in the world—the United States Senate. Senator Scott opens up about his personal journey from humble beginnings in South Carolina to becoming a leading voice in American politics, sharing how his Christian faith has been the anchor that has guided his life and decisions. If you enjoy this conversation, be sure to follow The Greg Laurie Show on Apple or Spotify so you never miss an episode!
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Originally published August 14, 2025.
