Love Ye Therefore the Stranger: Remembering Pierre Damas Bel

A note to readers: This article discusses the death of a young person and emotional despair. If you or someone you know may be in danger, call or text 988 in the United States to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. It is free, confidential, and available at all times. If there is immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.

Introduction

Pierre Damas Bel was only twenty years old.

He should have had years to discover who he would become. He should have had time to study, work, play soccer, laugh with friends, disappoint himself, begin again, and build the future he came to America hoping to find.

Instead, Pierre died carrying a fear that no young person should have to carry alone.

According to his family and advocates, Pierre was afraid of being deported to Haiti. They said he felt ashamed and humiliated after immigration authorities placed a GPS monitor around his ankle. He had entered the United States with government permission in 2024, but his immigration protections later changed. ICE confirmed that it placed the monitor on him while his immigration case continued. Authorities said the circumstances of his death were still under investigation when the first reports were published. His family believes immigration fear and the humiliation he experienced contributed to his despair. (CBS News; ABC News)

We must be careful not to pretend that we know every thought Pierre had or that one event can completely explain a person’s death. Human pain is rarely that simple. But we must also refuse to look away from the questions his story raises.

When did this young man stop being seen as a person?

When did his education, character, dreams, fear, and future become less important than the immigration category placed beside his name?

When did America look at a twenty-year-old student and see an immigration problem before seeing a human being?

And most importantly for those who claim to follow Christ: What did God see when He looked at Pierre?

God saw a life He created.

God saw a young man made in His image.

God saw the stranger whom His Word repeatedly commands us not to mistreat.

“So God created man in his own image.”
—Genesis 1:27

Pierre was not an immigration status wearing a human face. He was a human being bearing God’s image.

A Legal Classification Is Not a Human Identity

A government needs laws. A country may establish borders and decide who may enter or remain. The Bible does not teach that civil authority is unnecessary.

But no law gives a government permission to forget a person’s humanity.

The words legal and illegal may describe an action or a legal status. They cannot measure the worth of a soul. A person’s papers may expire. A protection may be removed. A court may change someone’s status. But none of those things erase the image of God.

We should be especially careful about using the expression “illegal immigrant” as if the word illegal explains the entire person. It does not tell us where someone came from, what danger forced them to leave, how long they have lived here, whom they love, what work they do, or how desperately they may be trying to survive.

Legal status is part of a person’s circumstances. It is not the person’s name before God.

“The Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.”
—1 Samuel 16:7

Human beings look at documents, categories, clothing, accents, skin color, and nationality. God sees the heart. He sees the whole life that our labels hide.

Why Do People Come?

People leave their homelands for many reasons. Some are escaping gangs, war, political persecution, hunger, or crushing poverty. Some are trying to protect their children. Some are searching for work. Some are joining family members. Some arrive through an authorized program only to discover later that a change in policy has made their future uncertain.

This does not mean every immigration claim is legally valid. It means every claim belongs to a human being.

Imagine deciding whether to remain near the people you love or return to a place you fear. Imagine waking every morning wondering whether a knock at the door will separate your family. Imagine working, studying, attending church, and helping your neighbors while knowing that one government decision could remove everything familiar from your life.

It is easy to speak harshly about immigration when the fear belongs to somebody else.

It is easy to say, “Send them back,” when we do not have to face the danger waiting for them.

It is easy to demand that frightened people obey a complicated system when we have never had to navigate that system in an unfamiliar language while trying to keep our children safe.

But God does not permit His people to build their opinions on distance and indifference. He commands us to remember.

“Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
—Exodus 22:21

God told Israel, in effect: You know what it feels like to be powerless in someone else’s country. Never use your own security to become cruel to those who now stand where you once stood.

America Must Remember Its Own Story

America did not begin on empty land. Indigenous peoples were already here. European colonists arrived from foreign shores. Later generations came through ports, across borders, and by air. Some came freely. Enslaved Africans were brought here by force. Refugees came running from persecution. Families arrived carrying little more than hope.

Our history is complicated and often painful. But one truth cannot be denied: America has been shaped by people who came from somewhere else.

Many American families who are secure today began with an ancestor who was once a foreigner, someone with a strange accent, unfamiliar customs, very little money, and a desperate hope for a better life.

Even among immigrants who currently lack full legal status, many are deeply rooted in American life. Pew Research Center estimated that in 2023, about 4.3 million unauthorized immigrant adults had lived in the United States for at least eighteen years, while another 3.8 million had lived here for five to seventeen years. It also estimated that 9.7 million were part of the American workforce and that millions of households included both immigrants without full legal status and American citizens or lawful residents. (Pew Research Center)

These are not people standing outside American society. They build homes, prepare food, care for children and older adults, harvest crops, clean buildings, attend churches, own businesses, and raise American sons and daughters. Their lives are already woven into the nation’s life.

A country has the authority to make laws. But when it speaks as though millions of neighbors are invaders with no human story, it creates fear far beyond a courtroom. It reaches workplaces, schools, churches, and playgrounds. It teaches ordinary people whom they are permitted to despise.

God’s Command Concerning the Stranger Is Not Confusing

Christians may disagree about the best immigration policy. They may disagree about visas, asylum rules, border enforcement, or how many people a nation can receive.

But Christians cannot honestly say that the Bible is unclear about the humanity of the stranger.

“The stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself.”
—Leviticus 19:34

God did not say merely to tolerate the foreigner. He said to love the foreigner as yourself.

What would you want if you were frightened in another country?

You would want someone to hear your story before judging you. You would want your children protected. You would want the law explained honestly. You would want enough time to find help. You would want officials to remember that your fear is real. You would want to be corrected without being humiliated and treated firmly without being treated as less than human.

That is what it means to love another person as yourself.

“For the Lord your God … regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward: He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment. Love ye therefore the stranger.”
—Deuteronomy 10:17–19

Notice what Scripture says: God loves the stranger.

Therefore, when a nation trains its people to hate the stranger, it is training them to hate someone God says He loves.

“I Was a Stranger”

Jesus made the matter even more personal.

“I was a stranger, and ye took me in.”
—Matthew 25:35

In that passage, the King separates people according to how they treated the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the poorly clothed, the sick, and the imprisoned. Their treatment of vulnerable people revealed their treatment of Him.

That should cause every Christian to stop before repeating cruel words about immigrants.

Jesus did not say, “I was a stranger, and you demanded to know whether helping Me would improve your politics.”

He said, “You took me in.”

This does not require a Christian to support every policy or oppose every act of enforcement. It requires something deeper: We must never allow politics to remove Christ’s image from the person standing before us.

The stranger may be frightened. The stranger may have made mistakes. The stranger’s legal case may be complicated. But the stranger remains our neighbor.

Government Authority Is Not Higher Than God

Some Christians answer every concern about government conduct by quoting Romans 13:

“Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God.”
—Romans 13:1

Yes, government has authority. But authority that comes from God must answer to God.

Romans 13 is not a blank check allowing rulers to behave however they please. The same Bible that recognizes civil authority also condemns rulers who write unjust orders, oppress the weak, accept bribes, show favoritism, or forget mercy.

“Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people.”
—Isaiah 10:1–2

God does not become silent when wrongdoing is written on official paper. An order can be legal under human law and still be cruel in God’s sight. A procedure can be properly followed while a person is improperly treated.

“Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy.”
—Psalm 82:3

The greater the power, the greater the responsibility. A frightened immigrant stands almost powerless before the government. The government controls the hearings, the documents, the deadlines, the detention, the monitoring, and the final decision. Because that power is so great, it must be used with extraordinary care.

God will not be impressed that cruelty was efficient.

He will not be satisfied that humiliation followed procedure.

He will not excuse indifference because an official was “only doing a job.”

“For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.”
—Luke 12:48

Justice Without Mercy Becomes Cruelty

The biblical answer is not lawlessness. It is justice joined with mercy.

“What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”
—Micah 6:8

God did not tell rulers to choose between justice and mercy. He requires both.

Justice asks whether a law has been broken. Mercy asks what happened to the human being standing before us.

Justice protects a nation. Mercy prevents that protection from becoming oppression.

Justice sets necessary boundaries. Mercy refuses to use those boundaries as an excuse for humiliation.

Justice may require a difficult decision. Mercy makes that decision without mockery, hatred, or needless cruelty.

When mercy disappears, human beings become case numbers. Families become “removal units.” Children become acceptable losses. Fear becomes a tool. Suffering becomes invisible.

Scripture gives a frightening warning:

“For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy.”
—James 2:13

America should read those words carefully.

When Love Grows Cold

Jesus warned of a time when sin would increase, and human love would become cold.

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
—Matthew 24:12

Coldness rarely arrives all at once. It grows one step at a time.

First, the government uses a label.

Then leaders repeat the label with contempt.

The media turns suffering into another argument.

Adults repeat the contempt at home.

Young people carry it into school.

Neighbors become suspicious of one another.

Churches become afraid to speak.

The suffering person receives the message from every direction: You are not one of us. You are unwanted. You do not belong.

We cannot say that any one message or policy fully explains Pierre’s death. But we can ask whether the world surrounding him made hope easier to see, or made fear heavier to carry.

Pierre reportedly felt humiliated by the monitor around his ankle. His family said he experienced ridicule. Imagine being twenty years old and walking into school wearing something that makes others see you as a criminal. Imagine starting college and playing sports while believing you could be sent to a country you feared.

Whether we agree on immigration policy or not, can we not understand why a young person would need compassion in that moment?

Where were the voices telling him, “You are more than this monitor”?

Where were the voices saying, “Your legal status is not your value”?

Where were the people prepared to sit beside him until the wave of despair passed?

We cannot change what happened. But we can allow Pierre’s story to change us.

America Cannot Live on Religious Slogans

America frequently speaks the name of God. Political leaders end speeches by asking God to bless the nation. The words “In God We Trust” appear on our money. Many public officials place a hand on a Bible when taking office.

But God is not honored by ceremonies that are separated from obedience.

“This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.”
—Matthew 15:8

A nation cannot ask God to bless its power while ignoring His command to protect the powerless.

It cannot praise liberty while spreading terror among families.

It cannot call itself righteous while teaching citizens to despise foreigners.

It cannot claim Christian values while treating mercy as weakness.

America has often spoken of rights given by a Creator. If human rights truly come from God, then government does not create human worth, and government cannot take it away. A person does not become less valuable because a document changed or because an official called that person an alien.

“Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
—Proverbs 14:34

God does not judge a nation by the size of its economy, the strength of its military, the height of its walls, or the loudness of its religious language. Scripture repeatedly shows God examining how rulers treated the poor, the stranger, the widow, the orphan, and everyone who lacked power.

Is America Placing Itself Under God’s Judgment?

No human being can announce God’s complete timetable or claim to know every reason behind a national tragedy. But Scripture allows, and requires, us to warn a nation when its actions oppose God’s commands.

The Bible shows God judging powerful societies for pride, violence, oppression, dishonest courts, and indifference toward suffering. God is not an American. He does not belong to a political party. He does not excuse wrongdoing because it is wrapped in a flag.

“Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor.”
—Zechariah 7:9–10

What happens when a nation repeatedly refuses this command?

What happens when it treats the stranger as a threat before hearing his story?

What happens when fear becomes a political weapon, and cruelty becomes something people cheer?

What happens when Christians remain silent because the suffering person belongs to the wrong group?

God hears the cries that governments ignore.

God sees the fear hidden behind closed doors.

God knows every family waiting for a loved one to return home.

God knows every child who wonders whether a parent will disappear.

And God remembers every Pierre whose humanity was lost beneath a label.

America should not assume that it can ask for God’s blessing while rejecting God’s ways. A nation that abandons mercy places itself beneath the warnings of Scripture.

The American People Include Immigrants

When we say the government has failed “the American people,” we must remember that immigrant families are part of the American people.

They live beside us. Their children attend school with ours. They repair our roofs, prepare our meals, care for our elderly parents, worship in our churches, and serve our communities. Some are citizens. Some are lawful residents. Some have temporary protection. Some are waiting for a decision. Some lack legal status after living here for many years.

Their circumstances differ, but their humanity does not.

When immigration enforcement spreads fear through an entire community, American citizens suffer too. Children may be citizens while their parents are not. Families contain several different legal statuses under one roof. A harsh action against one person can wound a spouse, a child, a school, a church, and a neighborhood.

This is not “their” problem. It is our problem because they are our neighbors.

“And if one member suffer, all the members suffer with it.”
—1 Corinthians 12:26

Who Gave Us the Right to Decide Who Belongs?

Human governments must make legal decisions about citizenship and residence. But Christians must never confuse a government’s decision with God’s final judgment of a person.

Only God knows the heart. Only God knows the whole story. Only God is the final Judge.

“There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?”
—James 4:12

We may judge conduct when justice requires it. We may support lawful processes. But we have no right to declare that another human being has no place among us simply because that person was born somewhere else.

The earth does not belong to America.

The earth belongs to God.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.”
—Psalm 24:1

Every nation is temporary. Every border drawn by human beings will one day disappear. Every passport will expire. Every flag will eventually fall. But the souls standing before God will remain.

Our highest citizenship is not American citizenship.

“For our conversation is in heaven.”
—Philippians 3:20

If heaven is our true home, then every Christian is also a traveler living by God’s mercy.

What Christians Must Do Now

We cannot honor Pierre by using his death merely to win an argument. We honor him by changing how we see and treat the frightened people who are still alive.

See the person before the status

Learn someone’s name. Hear the story. Refuse language that turns a whole person into a slur or a political object.

Speak truth without surrendering mercy

Christians do not have to deny the importance of laws. But we must reject cruelty, humiliation, collective blame, and the idea that compassion threatens public safety.

Demand humane government

Ask elected officials and agencies whether their policies protect dignity, family unity, due process, and mental health. Authority should never be protected from moral examination.

Help immigrant families directly

Churches can help families find trustworthy legal assistance, counseling, food, transportation, translation, and safe community. Hospitality is not an abstract belief. It is love with an open door.

“Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”
—Hebrews 13:2

Notice despair and act immediately

When someone says that life feels unbearable, take it seriously. Stay with the person. Listen without arguing. Help connect that person with immediate professional support. Prayer matters, but prayer should never be used as a reason to withhold medical or mental-health care. God can work through counselors, doctors, pastors, friends, and crisis workers.

Teach our children differently

Children should never be taught that another child is inferior because of an accent, nationality, skin color, poverty, or immigration status. The words adults speak become the voices children carry into schools.

“Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”
—Matthew 5:7

Remember His Name

His name was Pierre Damas Bel.

He was twenty years old.

He was a student, a soccer player, and a young man trying to build a life. People who knew him described his promise and character. His future should not be reduced to the circumstances of his death.

Pierre’s story does not answer every immigration question. But it asks a question more important than politics:

What is happening to the heart of America?

Have we become so devoted to categories that we can no longer see people?

Have we become so afraid of strangers that we have forgotten God’s command to love them?

Have we confused strength with harshness and justice with the absence of mercy?

Have Christians become so loyal to political sides that we can hear about a frightened young man and feel nothing?

“And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”
—Matthew 24:12

Pierre’s story should break through that coldness.

It should remind officials that a human life lives inside every case file.

It should remind citizens that words can deepen fear or offer hope.

It should remind churches that welcoming the stranger is not a political fashion. It is a command from God.

And it should remind America that no government is beyond judgment.

One day every leader, official, pastor, voter, and citizen will stand before the Judge who cannot be influenced by political power. On that day, titles will be meaningless. Parties will be meaningless. National pride will be meaningless. God will judge with perfect truth, and He will remember how we treated people who had little power to protect themselves.

America may continue saying, “God bless America.” But the more urgent prayer may be this:

God, forgive America. Warm our cold hearts. Teach us to see the stranger. Teach us to love mercy. Teach us to recognize Your image in every person before another precious life is buried beneath a label.

“For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.”
—James 2:13

If You or Someone You Love Needs Help

Fear about immigration, family separation, or any other crisis can become overwhelming. You do not have to carry it alone. In the United States, call or text 988, or visit 988lifeline.org, for free and confidential crisis support at any time. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.