The Law is The Law…Enforce It or Change It
May 2, 2007
There was another round of rallys and protests yesterday centered around (illegal) immigrants rights and the recent raids around the country rounding up illegal immigrants from job sites and deporting them. I’m not one of those people who is saying we should close the border and keep America for Americans, but this is absurd. We have immigration laws in this country. While I don’t agree with every facet of the law it is still THE LAW. It is the job of the INS to enforce those laws and one way to enforce the law is to capture and punish those who break it.
One story from the AP outlined clashes between police and protesters in Los Angeles (another mess in itself), but buried toward the end of the story a line struck me about a mother pushing a stroller with a sign: “Bush, Think of the Moms. Stop the raids.” There are two assumptions in this that strike me as rather, well, wrong. The first is that Bush is responsible for the raids. The fact is that as the highest executive of the United States government he is responsible, albeit quite indirectly. The second and more important assumption is that we should make exceptions in enforcing the law for people who have families. Since any person born within the United States is automatically a citizen we have a problem. Sometimes when the INS deports an illegal immigrant that immigrant has children who are legal citizens and therefore have the right to remain in this country. Everyone knows this. The unfortunate part is that these children are left in the lurch when their parents get shipped out.
Do I feel sorry for these children? Of course I do. Do I think George Bush or the INS is the one to blame? Definitely not. The blame should truly lie with the parents. The reason the INS deports illegal immigrants is because they are breaking the law, period. The idea that we should not enforce the law because doing so will affect the children is ridiculous. Do we let those guilty of grand theft auto or securities fraud off the hook becuase they have kids? Of course not. So why should we do it with people breaking immigration laws? A person has to accept the consequences of his actions. If he is an illegal immigrant and fathers children within the USA then he has to accept the fact that one day he may be arrested and deported. That is a choice he made and now he has to live with the consequences.
Now I don’t agree with current immigration laws. I think they are outdated, ineffective, and in direct conflict the the demand for labor in this country, both skilled and unskilled. I believe Congress is hideously derelict in their duty to reform the immigration laws in this country. However, until those in Washington get off their asses and actually get something done the laws on the books are still the laws and they need to be enforced. The law is the law. If you don’t like it, change it or get it changed. But you can’t simply ignore it.
May 2, 2007 at 7:31 pm
Ooh goody! I get to be your first commenter. I couldn’t agree more, especially with the last paragraph.
I think that the president should give Congress two months to come up with a workable plan and call for a moratorium on raids on illegals already in the country until that time. They’re cruel and disruptive, despite the law being enforced.
If Congress sits there with their thumbs up their asses, then the raids will be on their hands when they resume.
May 3, 2007 at 5:55 pm
You make some interesting points in your post, but I want to mention one thing. It’s all well and good that if we don’t like the law that we can “change it or get it changed.” However, historically it takes an awfully long time for this to happen. Anyone who has worked with the government understands its plethora of red tape and bureaucracy. What are the immigrants supposed to do in the meantime?
Most people come to this country in search of a better life and even the threat of the INS and raids are better than what they have left behind. Maybe these protests are not the answer, but they are at least drawing the attention of those who have the power to change things to this issue.
May 4, 2007 at 3:41 am
Actually, we don’t deport people who have minor children who are US citizens by birth. First priority on getting residency and citizenship goes to family members of citizens. That’s why they call them “anchor babies”; they do, in fact, anchor those families here.
Family re-unification has been a priority of the State Department for at least a couple decades now- sometimes taken to ridiculous lengths where aunts and uncles, and great-grandparents and step-cousins all tag along on the strength of one anchor baby.
The US needs immigration. We should be enforcing our laws against illegals, and at the same time picking and choosing the best we can get, and making the process of getting here (legally) easier for those we want, i.e. educated, law abiding productive citizens who believe in the American ideal of rule of law, individual soverignty and representative democracy.