--- id: 20151201_a_plan_for_citizenship title: BLOG - A Plan for Citizenship category: Biblical Life Counsel predicted_narrative_arc: civic-problem-to-prayerful-proposal sentiment: Convictional emotions: - Concerned - Practical - Hopeful keypoints: - America is a nation of immigrants blessed with freedom and hope for the future - Mass immediate deportation of roughly 11 million undocumented residents is neither wise nor realistic - Dean proposes sealing the border first, then a registration path to earned citizenship - Felony backgrounds trigger deportation; temporary "Red" licenses enable work and taxpaying - Prayer and civic forwarding of workable ideas are urged over partisan pride of authorship summary: > Dean Rush argues that America must deal wisely with current undocumented residents while stopping illegal entry. He sketches a citizenship plan — seal the border, register applicants with background checks, issue temporary work IDs, require taxes and civics instruction, delay voting five years — and invites readers to pray, improve the idea, and share it with elected officials without partisan pride. tags: - blog - policy - immigration - citizenship - borders - civic-duty - prayer - biblical-wisdom - dean-rush - national-healing sycophancy: 0 truth_score: 7 entropy: 4 sample: false consent: owner_approved agent: blog created: '2015-12-01' updated: '2026-09-09T00:00:00Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: BLOG prefix: BLOG enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: manual pipeline_filename: BLOG_2015-12-01_a-plan-for-citizenship.md source_kind: blog_article proposed_topic: Wisdom lane: Wisdom voice: desk active_voice: desk voices: - desk routing_source: carbon corpus_topic: Wisdom content_status: active date: '2015-12-01' share_url: https://deanrush.net/blog/a-plan-for-citizenship source_url: https://deanrush.net/blog/a-plan-for-citizenship site_category: Policy archive_month: 2015-12 description: > Dean proposes a border-seal-first path to earned citizenship for undocumented residents already here, pairing practical steps with prayer and nonpartisan problem-solving. --- # A Plan for Citizenship **Author:** Dean Rush **Original post:** [deanrush.net/blog/a-plan-for-citizenship](https://deanrush.net/blog/a-plan-for-citizenship) **Archive month:** December 2015 · **Site category:** Policy > Voice note: Everything under **Dean's article** is Dean's original prose (lightly cleaned of HTML/image artifacts only). Sections marked **Biblical foundations**, **Scholar sidebar**, **Takeaways**, and **First-time learner** are enrichment for Asker / first readers — not Dean speaking. --- ## Biblical foundations (preface) Dean offers a civic proposal — how to treat people already present while restoring lawful entry — and closes by asking readers to pray and improve the idea together. The enrichment below does not rewrite his policy steps; it shows the wider biblical frame that makes his posture coherent for someone opening a Bible for the first time. | Dean's claim | Scriptural undercarriage | | --- | --- | | A free people should share blessing wisely with those already among them | "You shall not oppress a stranger" (Exodus 22:21); love the sojourner as yourself (Leviticus 19:33–34) | | Lawlessness without a starting point worsens the problem | Governing authority is not a terror to good conduct (Romans 13:1–4); do justice and love mercy (Micah 6:8) | | Families matter in how a nation processes residency | God sets the lonely in families (Psalm 68:6); provide for one's household (1 Timothy 5:8) | | Prayer and humility beat partisan pride of authorship | Seek the welfare of the city (Jeremiah 29:7); "in humility count others more significant" (Philippians 2:3) | --- ## Dean's article ### We are a nation of immigrants ![Statue of Liberty from Dean's original post](https://deanrush.net/Portals/0/images/article/statue-of-liberty-828665_400.jpg) We are a nation of immigrants who have been blessed to live in a free society with hope for the future. The following plan is intended to help our generation and the next share our blessing. It is essential that we deal wisely with all current residents. Yes, some have arrived here illegally. We are foolish to think that 11 million people could be or should be deported immediately to their home countries. Most of these immigrants have become productive members of our work force and desire to be contributing members of society. If we can provide a reasonable path for these people to become US citizens and contributing members of our communities, we all win. It is also important to stop the flow of illegal immigrants who would continue to exacerbate the problem. We need a starting point to re-establish legal entry just as our fore-fathers experienced. > **Scholar sidebar — Sojourners, blessing, and wise dealing** > Scripture holds two notes together: compassion toward the stranger and ordered life under just rule. Israel was repeatedly told not to oppress the sojourner because they themselves had been strangers in Egypt (Exodus 22:21; Leviticus 19:33–34). At the same time, biblical wisdom is not lawlessness; Romans 13:1–4 treats governing authority as accountable for restraining wrongdoing. Dean's opening diagnosis — bless the next generation, deal wisely with people already here, and stop an uncontrolled flow — sits inside that dual frame without claiming a single verse as a statute book for modern visas. ### Citizenship: Intent of the Process The intent of the process, described in this article, is to provide a path for all who presently reside in the United States, without legal entry, the opportunity to earn citizenship if they meet certain criteria. The procedure suggested would result in a path to citizenship, reunite, or maintain families already present in this country, identify felons who should be deported, and, in the final phase, become a track for people to become fully accredited citizens. ### Citizenship Plan Guarantee I believe the citizenship plan allows family members avoid separation during the process of application. It allows for persons already in the US to work, establish citizenship, and become productive, tax paying, contributors to our society during the application process. The first step in the program is to shut off all illegal entry to our borders. There must be a starting point. Closing the border will stop the influx of people which is complicating any possibility of a reasonable solution. Sealing the border also provides a starting point to provide citizenship opportunities for the people who are here to become legitimate citizens. If there is no starting point there will be a deluge of people who will dilute the process of legally adopting the undocumented who are here now. > **Scholar sidebar — Starting points and household care** > Dean's insistence on a "starting point" is practical governance language; biblically it resonates with ordered responsibility rather than chaos. Caring that families not be needlessly torn apart echoes Scripture's high view of household provision and belonging (Psalm 68:6; 1 Timothy 5:8). Distinguishing violent wrongdoing from ordinary labor also tracks the biblical concern that justice not blur categories (cf. Romans 13:3–4). The scholar layer supports his pastoral-civic intent — productive contribution, family continuity, and a clear line against felony — without rewriting his policy mechanics. ### Here are the basic elements of the citizenship plan: 1. The **borders be sealed**, **stopping all illegal entry and a starting point for a path to citizenship.** 2. **Undocumented citizens would be required to register as applicants** for citizenship: - a. They must register within 3 months of the date of implementation. - b. Anyone not registering in the designated period will be deported with their families. - c. Applicants would register at the local drivers license bureau. - d. Upon registering, the applicant would be finger printed and background checked. - e. All applicants with felony backgrounds would be immediately deported. 3. After registering, the individual would be issued a **"Red"** drivers license. - a. The Red drivers license would act as a temporary identification card and work permit. - b. After registering the applicant would begin paying taxes. No welfare or social security would be paid for a period of one year from the end of the application period. - c. Applicants would attend a short class on the basic operation of our government. 4. **When listed steps are completed the applicant would be granted citizenship without the right to vote for five years from the date of application approval.** - a. A normal drivers license would replace the RED license at the end of the five year waiting period. - b. The applicant could then apply for their immediate family to be processed. - c. Applicants would be taxed 2% of their wages to pay for the program during processing. - d. A **limit of 90 days would be given for the government** to process the applications. - e. **No government subsidy** would be paid to the applicant until completion. I am aware this is only an idea. The process might be considered too simplistic. With prayer and better ideas from you, we can work together to establish a workable plan. Pray about how you can improve on the ideas discussed in this article. My intent is simply to find a realistic and fair way to solve the present dilemma. Sealing the borders is a first step. The action simply gives us a starting point and re-establishes a process for visitors to go through a proper legal process to enter the USA. If you like the idea forward it to your elected government official. The thoughts herein are not aimed at either political party. There is no pride of authorship. **We need to solve the problem.** In Him Dean > **Scholar sidebar — Prayer before pride of authorship** > Dean ends not with a party whip but with prayer, invitation to improve the plan, and refusal of authorship pride. That posture matches Micah 6:8 (justice, mercy, humility) and Jeremiah 29:7 (seek the city's welfare). Philippians 2:3 warns against selfish ambition; James 1:5 invites asking God for wisdom. Supporting his close does not mean baptizing every procedural detail — it means recognizing that he frames citizenship reform as shared problem-solving under God, not as tribal victory. --- ## Takeaways 1. **Immigrants and blessing.** Dean roots the discussion in America's immigrant story and a duty to share freedom wisely with the next generation. 2. **Mass deportation is rejected as folly.** He treats roughly 11 million already-present people as a reality requiring a reasonable path, not an overnight purge. 3. **Seal first, then process.** A closed border is his non-negotiable starting point so legalization of those already here is not immediately diluted. 4. **Earned citizenship with conditions.** Registration, fingerprints, felony deportation, temporary work ID, taxes, civics class, and a five-year delay before voting define his ladder. 5. **Pray, improve, forward — no party ownership.** The post closes as an idea offered for prayerful refinement and civic sharing, not partisan branding. --- ## First-time learner ### What is Dean saying in one sentence? Stop uncontrolled illegal entry, then give people already here a clear, conditional path to earn citizenship and contribute — and pray together for a fairer plan than any one author owns. ### Why does Scripture matter for a policy sketch? Because Dean's own close is prayerful and nonpartisan. The Bible does not publish a modern immigration statute, but it does bind compassion for the stranger, respect for ordered justice, care for families, and humility in public problem-solving — the moral weather in which he wants readers to think. ### Key verses to read with this post - **Exodus 22:21 / Leviticus 19:33–34** — Do not oppress the stranger; love the sojourner. - **Romans 13:1–4** — Governing authority and restraining wrongdoing. - **Micah 6:8** — Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly. - **Jeremiah 29:7** — Seek the welfare of the city. - **Psalm 68:6 / 1 Timothy 5:8** — Families and household responsibility. - **James 1:5** — Ask God for wisdom. ### A simple practice (Dean's challenge made concrete) Before arguing immigration online this week: (1) pray James 1:5 for wisdom, (2) write one improvement to Dean's outline that keeps both compassion and a clear starting point, (3) if you affirm a workable idea, forward it to an elected official without attaching party pride. ### How this feeds Ask Dean This post is seed material for questions such as: *What does Dean propose on immigration? How should Christians think about borders and sojourners? Why does he refuse party ownership of the plan?* Answers should keep Dean's voice primary and use the scholar notes only as supporting biblical scaffolding.