Was Baby Jesus an Illegal Immigrant? Fact, Fiction, and the Call to Mercy

The Holy Family were law-abiding subjects of the Roman Empire who complied with the decrees of the state.

Every Christmas season, a familiar argument resurfaces: the idea that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were “undocumented immigrants” or “illegal aliens” during their flight to Egypt. Some use this narrative to justify modern illegal immigration, suggesting that to oppose it is to condemn the Holy Family itself.

Can you imagine people trying to use baby Jesus dur…