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Charlie Kirk is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, the largest and fastest growing conservative youth activist organization in the country with over 250,000 student members, over 150 full-time staff, and a presence on over 2,000 high school and college campuses nationwide. Charlie is also the Chairman of Students for Trump, which aims to activate one million new college voters on campuses in battleground states in the lead up to the 2020 presidential election. His social media reaches over 100 million people per month and according to Axios, he is one of the "top 10 most engaged" Twitter handles in the world. He is also the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” which regularly ranks among the top news shows on Apple podcast charts.
Charlie Kirk Responds to 'Jesus Would Be a Refugee' Immigration Argument at Texas Campus Event
Charlie Kirk addresses a college student's question about whether Republicans would deny Jesus entry to America if he came as a modern-day refugee. The exchange explores biblical teachings on immigration, citizenship, and borders. Kirk dismantles the theological argument while introducing the concept of "ordered loves" from Thomas Aquinas, arguing that loving your neighbor requires first taking care of American citizens. The conversation touches on Exodus, Deuteronomy, and the book of Nehemiah to discuss what scripture actually teaches about borders and migration.
A freshman political science major at a Texas campus event posed a challenging question to Charlie Kirk: if Jesus came to America in modern times, wouldn't Republicans refuse him entry? The student framed the question around the popular argument that Jesus was a refugee, and therefore current immigration policies would contradict Christian values.
Kirk immediately corrected the theological premise. Jesus, when his family fled to Egypt, was actually moving between two parts of the Roman Empire, not crossing international boundaries as we understand them today. Egypt was under Roman jurisdiction, making the refugee comparison historically inaccurate.
Beyond the technical correction, Kirk identified the core issue with the argument: it's an attempt at emotional manipulation using theology. The implication that divine character exists among all migrants seeking entry, and that denying entry equals denying Christ, represents theological sloppiness designed to guilt Christians into supporting open borders.
Good People, Bad People, and National Sovereignty
The student pressed further, acknowledging that while some dangerous people cross the southern border, good people also seek entry, and everyone should have equal opportunity. She emphasized this perspective as particularly relevant in Texas, where border issues directly impact communities.
Kirk challenged the fundamental premise that nations must let anyone in. Over the past four years, approximately 14 million people have entered the United States without proper vetting. Entry to a country is a privilege, not a right. When immigration does occur, it should prioritize highly qualified individuals who love America and want to assimilate.
While acknowledging that 14 million entrants will inevitably include both good and bad people, Kirk reframed the question using a micro-to-macro comparison. Countries function as homes for their citizens. Just as individuals don't maintain open borders at their homes or dorm rooms, nations shouldn't either. What makes sense personally should inform national policy.
Loving Neighbors Requires Borders
Kirk made a counterintuitive Christian argument: maintaining borders actually makes it easier to love your neighbor. When tens of millions of people flood into a country without proper systems, the existing neighbors—American citizens of all backgrounds—get forgotten. These "forgotten Americans" became the foundation of President Trump's electoral success, representing a movement to prioritize American citizens first, not out of hatred for foreigners but out of love for existing citizens.
Biblical Arguments on Both Sides
The student quoted Exodus: "Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you are foreigners in Egypt." She argued that America is built on foreigners, and where and when someone is born shouldn't determine their liberties.
Kirk acknowledged the scripture but pointed to balance elsewhere in the Bible. In Deuteronomy, Moses warns about mass migration, cautioning that migrants can become masters over the native population. The key distinction, however, is that sending someone back to their country of origin doesn't constitute mistreatment or oppression. It's simply enforcement of national sovereignty.
The student raised concerns about restrictions even on legal immigrants, sharing an example of her roommate's uncle who has lived in America for over 20 years but fears leaving because he might not be allowed to return. Kirk clarified that this situation indicates the uncle isn't actually a citizen but likely has temporary green card status. Actual U.S. citizens can freely enter and exit the country.
The Doctrine of Ordered Loves
When the student reiterated that we should let more people in based on the commandment to love thy neighbor, Kirk introduced a theological framework from Thomas Aquinas called "ordered loves." This Catholic moral teaching establishes a hierarchy of obligations:
First, establish a relationship with Christ
Second, love and care for your family
Third, love your community
Fourth, love your state
Fifth, love your nation
Only then extend love outward to other nations
Each level depends on successfully fulfilling the previous one. According to Kirk, America has failed at maintaining these ordered loves. Veterans receive terrible treatment, workers have watched their jobs shipped overseas, and the country has neglected its own citizens. A nation must first love its citizens before it can responsibly operate a compassionate, merit-based immigration system.
The Book of Nehemiah and National Identity
Kirk pointed to the entire book of Nehemiah, which focuses on building a wall to protect Jerusalem. This biblical precedent demonstrates that boundaries and national protection have scriptural support, not just modern political justification.
What Happens When Government Forgets Citizens
Kirk concluded with a fundamental point about the nature of government itself. When a government stops understanding that it exists primarily for its own people rather than people from other countries, it ceases to be a government. It becomes a social experiment instead. This transformation has proven destructive to American civic life over recent years.
The mass entry of 14 million people hasn't benefited anyone—not American citizens and not native-born Americans. A government that prioritizes foreign nationals over its own citizens has abandoned its core function and lost its legitimacy.
The exchange ended respectfully, with Kirk thanking the student for her thoughtful questions and civil demeanor, demonstrating that difficult conversations about immigration, faith, and national identity can occur without hostility.
