Is there a biblical view on illegal immigration? There are certainly Bible verses that address undue mixing with religiously pernicious peoples and cultures, and verses emphasizing the importance of following just laws. There's even a biblical book highlighting the importance of building walls. So yes, there is a scripturally informed view on illegal immigration, and it really isn't in favor of the Democrat perspective.
From the Old Testament passages strictly warning the Jews to build walls and not to accept in and intermarry with pagans, to the New Testament passages on obeying lawful authority, there are numerous verses providing an understanding of migration and lawful residency.
One of the verses most strongly in favor of closed borders — as my colleague Kevin Downey Jr. reminded me — is in the second chapter of Nehemiah (or 2 Esdras), where Nehemiah urges his fellow Jews newly returned from exile with "let us build up the walls of Jerusalem, and let us be no longer a reproach." They do not want to risk any more devastating invasions like the one that carried them into exile. The ancient walls of Old City Jerusalem, repaired and built up many times, remain to this day. I have seen and touched them.
Before I dive into more Bible verses, just as a response to Pope Leo XIV in particular and all the Catholic bishops who claim that to be Catholic you have to be pro-illegal migration, let me note that the Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that "prosperous nations" should "welcome the foreigner" only "to the extent they are able," and that "political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens." So Church teaching is in fact opposed to illegal migration. I hope my fellow Catholics understand that.
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Now for the biblical perspective on national sovereignty. In the Old Testament, God strictly forbids intermarriage with pagan nations and tribes, as for instance in the opening of Deuteronomy 7, lest the pagan spouse "will turn away thy son from following me." In other words, God warned that pagan morals were antithetical to the Mosaic Law. 1/3 Kings 11 attributes Solomon's corruption, his fall from wisdom and turning toward false gods, to his many pagan wives and concubines.
Now, with the New Testament, God invited Gentiles who believe in Christ to become part of the people of God along with the Jews, but two points remain true: that it is dangerous to bring in large numbers of people who have religious and cultural values antithetical to Judeo-Christian civilization, and that the government has the right and duty to protect its nation's sovereignty. There's even a New Testament injunction against intermarrying with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14).
In Romans 13:1, St. Paul emphasizes the importance of obeying lawful authorities. And in 1 Peter 2:13-14, we find St. Peter urging, "Be ye subject therefore to every human creature for God's sake: whether it be to the king as excelling; Or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of the good." Now, obviously, if these authorities demand injustices, we can disobey them; indeed, both Peter and Paul disobeyed pagan rulers on worshipping false gods, and were martyred for it. But protecting national sovereignty and preventing massive numbers of foreigners with pernicious beliefs from moving to one's country are just, or God would never have made such a point of them in the Old Testament.
In short, a Biblical view on immigration is opposed to open borders and illegal migration.
