Generations of resettled refugees and immigrants past are a demonstration that such a vision is not Pollyannish; it’s just the ordinary course of American life. The difference between now and then is the merchants of fear who’ve taught us that wherever outsiders come from, they oughtn’t be trusted. That kind of paranoia is neither an American value, nor a conservative one.

For Christian Americans, there is another compelling argument in favor of generous refugee resettlement: The Lord expects it. Pope St. John Paul II put it this way: “The spirit of solidarity clearly reveals the unacceptable fact that millions of refugees live in inhuman conditions. In particular, the citizens and institutions of democratic and economically developed States cannot remain indifferent in the face of such a tragic situation. Inaction or a meager commitment on the part of these States would blatantly contradict the principles that they rightly consider the basis of their culture, established on the equal dignity of every human person.”

Jesus put it more simply: “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.”