Texas megachurch Pastor Robert Jeffress on Thursday cited Jesus Christ to Fox News as reason that the federal government should build a border fence, which he said was the most compassionate thing that could be done for immigrant children.

Although Jeffress has said that President Barack Obama was preparing the U.S. for the Antichrist, Fox News host Steve Doocy found it “curious” that the president had not invited him to talk about immigration during a recent trip to Texas.

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“I doubt I world be on the president’s invitation list or even his Christmas card list because of some of the things I’ve said on Fox,” Jeffress laughed. “Frankly, I don’t care whether the president goes to the border, I want him to secure the border. And he has the ability to do that right now.”

“You know, he said just a few weeks ago, he doesn’t need Congress, he has a pen and a phone,” the pastor noted. “Well, it’s time to use that, and issue one of the executive orders to protect our borders, and to protect children in the process.”

Jeffress argued that “the most compassionate thing we can do for these children is to secure the border.”

He compared the border to a swimming pool without a fence: “If you’re a homeowner with a swimming pool that doesn’t have a fence around it, and a neighborhood child wanders in and drowns, you’re liable because you have enticed that child into a dangerous situation. The remedy is to build a fence.”

“What we are doing by having these unsecured borders is we are enticing children and mothers to make this dangerous journey,” the Christian leader added. “Yes, we want to show compassion to the children who are here, but the most compassionate thing we can do is secure the borders.”

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Jeffress ended his interview with a religious message to the “many Christians” who watch Fox & Friends.

“They’re wondering what the right thing to do is,” he noted. “Yes, Jesus loved children, but he also respected law. He said, render unto Caesar the things that are Caesars.”

“So, we need to do both. Show compassion, but secure the borders.”

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Watch the video below from Fox News’ Fox & Friends, broadcast July 10, 2014.