Immigration, Human Trafficking, and Slavery

Fortieth in a series

In the original series, there were separate articles on immigration (resettlement), human trafficking, and slavery. Much of that content consisted of data specific to the time of their writing. Repeating that process is problematic. For example, because of the previous administration’s open border policy, we do not know how many aliens came into this country, who they were, where they came from, or where they ended up. Further, slavery is often human trafficking’s purpose, but the trafficking itself, and slavery, are usually hidden.

The only data I could find post 2020 regarding immigration comes from the Migration Policy Institute. It offers an interactive map. Hovering over a state provides totals for it. You can also double-click a state to get county level information. The default is the total immigrants from all countries by county, but there is a drop-down where you can select either the number of immigrants from a specific country or geographic region. It’s not ideal, but it was all I was able to currently find. That map is available here. As there is little data to present, and the topics are related, I will include them all in this article.

General Background

Before discussing these topics, we should look a little more at why they matter. Our country’s founding principles have their roots in individualism, specifically a Biblical-based philosophy directing societal behavior, morality, laws, and governance. Collectivism is simply the notion that a people exists to serve its state, and this generally breeds dependency within a people as the government grows to control most aspects of society.

Individualism is its opposite. Its underlying notion is that the state exists to serve its people (Mark 10:42-4). So you can look at this ideological battle as one between individual independence versus dependence. These are not only contradictory ideologies, they are incompatible — they cannot coexist whether it is progressivism, socialism, or Islam. Our Founders could not envision a people preferring government control and group preferences over freedom and individual liberty.

Until recently, though, America was little different from the rest of the world in some respects. Just look at all that is going on around us today, and the degree to which segments of our society have become increasingly dependent on government in many ways. The conflict between these underlying ideas is once again at the heart of some of this year’s election issues.

Immigration to America

When coming to America, one is committing themselves to supporting its founding ideology. You are giving yourself to an idea whereby your children and grandchildren have the opportunity for a better life than you had, if you are honest and work hard. This ideology is grounded in the virtue of hope. Underlying it are self-sacrifice, virtue, and unity. On the other hand, collectivism is generally grounded in division and entitlement — in love of self and vice. It is man focusing on himself rather than his Creator.

During WW II with fascism and the Cold War with communism, we had national discussions concerning each of these ideologies and why they were not compatible with our own. This dialogue came from our leaders, government, media, and the people themselves, but that conversation is missing today regarding Islam. It is a discussion we must have as a people, and my hope that articles like this one will provide some food for thought around that discussion. This is not an Islamophobic perspective. A phobia is irrational; anyone making such a statement is simply ignoring the evidence from 1,400 years of history. In addition, we see statements and actions today by some claiming to represent Islam contradicting peace, but that depends on whether you see man’s natural state as one of peace — or war.[1] The two paths lead to very different destinations.

Islam Specifically

The preceding is one ideological argument, but there is another to be made. Before presenting this argument, I want to make it clear that I personally think that immigration is good. It is one of the things that has greatly contributed to our country’s success. However, immigration must be done lawfully (equality under the law is one of our founding principles), and those entering our country must be willing to conform to America’s founding ideas.

These ideas have their basis in divine teaching, though they are not religion per se. Anyone who thinks otherwise simply hasn’t examined of our founding principle’s sources. Without lawful immigration and immigrant assimilation, immigration’s benefits can never be realized because we will not remain a single people. As many of our founding principles conflict with Islam’s tenets, it is an open question whether an individual can both assimilate into our society and still remain true to their Islamic identity and beliefs.

We see acts of non-conformity and violence by Islam’s followers not only being carried out in this country, but in Europe, Africa, and Asia as well. Similar actions also occur in Islamic countries. In August 2021, when this article was first written, we saw the suicide bombing of a wedding in Turkey by what appears to have been a child. A horrendous event by Western standards, but in some parts of the Islamic world acceptable. As with other forms of collectivism, the ends are what matter — the means used to obtain them are often only of secondary importance. If your country is not Islamic enough, it is acceptable to use the same degree of violence in an attempt to force it to change as would be used in a non-Islamic country.

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Refugee Resettlement

When Did Immigration Become Resettlement?

Joe Biden and Ted Kennedy co-sponsored the Refugee Act of 1980. It was signed into law by Jimmy Carter. This put the number and location of immigrants coming to America into the hands of the United Nations. Before this legislation, private funds supported charitable organizations assisting those immigrating to the US. This act shifted the monies used from private to public funds (i.e., taxes), and changed immigration from a charitable action into a business. Charity builds virtue in both the giver and receiver through the act of giving. Resettlement is an exchange of money for services — charity’s form empty of substance.

The Virginia Free Citizen Watch put together a very well done video outlining the cost of refugee resettlement in Virginia in 2016. The first half covers the resettlement program structures, funding, and participants. That video can be accessed here.[2] The figures are old, but the system itself and payments remained until Donald Trump signed an executive order ending the resettlement program’s funding in January 2025.[3] While the order ended the funding, the law is still on the books.

Who Participated?

The voluntary organizations (VOLAGS) participating in the resettlement program include both religious affiliated and non-religious organizations. Religious affiliated groups include; Baptist, Catholic, Episcopal, Evangelical, and Lutheran. The World Church Services represents 37 different religious affiliated organizations.[4] The International Rescue Committee is not a religiously affiliated organization.

The three organizations receiving most of the resettlement funds appear to be; the International Rescue Committee, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB, along with Catholic Charities), and the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service.[5] It’s reported the Catholic Church in America alone received almost $2.9 billion just during the four years of the Biden administration.[6] The USCCB ended its relationship with the federal government in April 2025, a few months after the resettlement program funding ended.

Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery

Turning to human trafficking, there are a couple of ties adding to slavery’s prevalence within Islamic countries. First, slavery is permissible under Islam. This item is a hold-over from pre-Islamic Arab culture. The second tie relates to jihad. There is a breakdown in governance and law during any period of war. Within Islamic jihad, captives can either be made slaves or held for ransom. Captives were historically part of the booty received by those who fought. One example, the first war fought by the U.S. was against the Barbary Pirates of North Africa, who raided ships and took captives that were made slaves or held for ransom. While this example is more recent, its behavior goes back to the actions sanctioned by Muhammad’s seventh century example.

A global slavery index is maintained by World Population Review. This map provides one measure of slavery present in the world today.[7]

Factors Underlying Modern Slavery

Modern slavery in most countries is driven by one or more of the following factors:

Drug trade
Forced labor
Sex trafficking

The drug trade uses slaves as forced labor not only to grow and process drugs, but in smuggling them as well. Slaves are often used in menial labor-intensive industries such as agriculture, construction, domestic servitude, factories, mining, and textiles. In some countries, children and others are forced into organized begging. Sex trafficking not only includes forced prostitution but, in some countries, supplying women for the temporary marriages allowed by Islam.

Some countries serve primarily as a source of slaves, others as their destination, and still others facilitate their movement between countries. One typical pattern is people in countries with few jobs volunteering to work in other countries. Once they arrive in the country they are to work in, their wages are withheld and/or their passports taken by the person who paid to bring them. They become illegal migrant workers with few rights and no legal standing. They are often put into forced labor situations or prostitution with no/little recourse to address their forced servitude.

A Difference in Morality and …

There is a single commonality across all slavery. It refuses to acknowledge our equality of nature given to us by God, through our common kinship, and His image given to man. This is the natural result of the elitism underlying all collectivist ideas, regardless of the ‘ism’ from which they are derived. Once one cuts themselves loose from truth, man can rationalize going just about anywhere.

Saul Alinsky’s first rule discusses the ends and means. It is, “One’s concern with the ethics of means and ends varies inversely with one’s personal interest in the issue.”[8] This is to say, the more one cares about an issue, the less they should care about the morality of the means used to achieve it. From a Christian perspective, this teaching is false as the ends and means used to obtain them both matter. Robbing someone in order to give to charity is an immoral act—it is evil. Period.

Ideas like Alinsky’s allow treating man as property without rights. The underlying notion is that man’s purpose to rule others rather than serving them. This follows Satan’s kingdom rather than God’s.

… A Difference in Virtue

There is a significant difference between pagan and Christian virtues. Pagan virtue is a mixing of good and evil; a blending of white and black into gray. When determining whether an action is good or bad, it just needs to be a little more good, or a little less evil, than the alternative to be viewed as good. It’s a relative measure, rather than an absolute one. This is the polar opposite of Christian virtue, where there is only good and evil. There is only white and black. There is no mixing. We can only choose one or the other, and our choices shape our character. They determine who we become. America’s Founders realized the difference. So should we.

Footnotes:

[1] Wolf, Dan, Islamic Myths – Part I, Virginia Christian Alliance, June 25, 2026, https://vachristian.org/islamic-myths-part-i/ .

[2] Virginia Free Citizen Watch, Refugee Resettlement, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8O2HaWNZ5_c . The video is about 52 minutes long, with the first half being devoted to the program structure, monies, and participants.

[3] White House, Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program, January, 2025, https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/realigning-the-united-states-refugee-admissions-program/ .

[4] Wikipedia, World Church Service, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_World_Service , Accessed; Aug., 2026.

[5] A few articles include the following. While older articles, the process nor groups receiving funding changed significantly.