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US Immigration
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| No | 37% | 9 votes |
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Add to FavoritesTwo hundred and thirty two years ago, our nation was formed through the Declaration of Independence. A critical, globally known line stands out "that all men are created equal." This concept was enough for them to defend and die for, and is at the very core of our national beliefs.
It also would necessitate either universal access to due process or none at all, for we are all equal. For this reason, removing the rights of some would greatly and unquestionably threaten the rights of all.
Immigrants may not hold the full rights of a citizen in the eyes of our current law, but they do hold a critical place in our society. Our nation is rooted in immigration, making it easy for laws to be diffused throughout the entire population. Even in our modern society, over 80% of new US citizens in the next forty years are projected to be immigrants or directly descended from immigrants.
Removing rights starts small, but history shows that it rarely stays that way. If we're willing to deny rights to a certain group of people, what's to stop us from later denying those same rights to others? If someone decides that the lack of due process has changed things for the better with immigrants, it's not a stretch to think they'd come to a conclusion that it would do the same for everybody.
It's made more complicated by the group in question. If we deny such basic rights to those who have illegally immigrated, what do we do with their children born in the United States? Technically, they're US citizens, but they have clear illegal roots. Rights to due process could be removed from them as well, effectively taking that right away from certain US citizens.
If that can be done to those citizens, why not all of them? More importantly, if it's passed on to their descendants, what will stop such conditions from eventually being applied to everyone? If it's not, what stops the parents from having children who are US citizens to grant them the right to due process, if not directly?
Those legal immigrants without documentation set an even more dangerous precedent. These are people who legally belong in the United States, but if they cannot provide proof and identification, they're denied access to a fair judicial system.
Without documentation, a person is an unknown. They could be an illegal immigrant, or they could be a legal one. They could even be US citizens, but without documentation, identification is based on their word and your instincts alone. If you were born in Philadelphia, but someone decides you're an illegal immigrant, well, too bad. You just lost your right to due process.
The fact is that our government was created to protect our rights, not remove them. It should defend equality, not create inequality. Due process is a critical right, and there's no way to be sure what would happen if it's selectively removed. If you can't be sure who's legal and who's not, you cannot be sure that you're not taking away the rights of a full citizen. It would easily take away the rights of the deserving and undeserving alike, and therefore cannot be done.
Learn more about this author, David Dibattiste.
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No
It is difficult to envision there being any situation that would cause legal U.S. citizens losing their right to due process as an offshoot of it being denied to illegal immigrants. Now you can call me naive or overly optimistic in my assessment but there are rational points to support my reasoning. While it is true immigrants legal and illegal haven't always had the best treatment when reaching the U.S. shores times have changed and need to continue changing. They key word in the question posed is "If" which means thus far the right to due process nor any right has been usurped, nor does it appear to even realistically be in danger of happening.
Legal and undocumented citizens are a tough group of people to deal with as it pertains to due process. On the one hand they are legal, but their lack of documentation severely hampers their treatment in regards to legal issues. There are many that view the treatment of undocumented citizens as too harsh, but the harsh reality is if they are facing a legal dilemma there is usually just cause beyond profiling. Furthermore if you are an undocumented legal resident, why not go ahead and get documentation and avoid the myriad of issues surrounding being undocumented. Sure it sounds too simplistic, but if life has taught us anything the simple answer is often right. While this may not end profiling it would certainly help curtail issues like wrongful detention or any potential rights violations.
When it comes to the rights of illegal immigrants in the United States I find it hard to have much sympathy. Yes my grandparents were immigrants, legal immigrants that signed the guest book on the way in and played by the rules. They experienced marginalization and dealt with the issues associated to being Irish in a time that was less than receptive to them including the outright trampling of due process at times. However by entering the country legally they were able to eventually enjoy all their rights. When we speak of illegal aliens remember the key word is "Illegal." They have broken the laws to enter the country.
When a person breaks the law they often lose the right to certain liberties. When an illegal alien is caught do they even actually have the right to due process under our laws? The reality is they don't, the right to due process is for citizens. Even as such we still afford them the privilege of due process. How will denying someone a "Right" they do not legally have going to lead to the rights of those who do losing that same right? It isn't. There are many people out there that would like us to believe that will happen, but there just isn't evidence to support this.
I recently had to go to traffic court, and while not a big deal I enjoyed my right to due process and my ticket being voided. I know there are countless illegal immigrants that have been pulled over for decades prior to last month that did not enjoy due process in fighting a ticket and it did not lead to me losing my right to do so. It didn't stop my neighbor from fighting a parking ticket, or my sister from going to court for child support. They all enjoyed due process because it is their right under our laws as legal citizens to do so. Do we need to continue bogging down an already overworked judicial system dealing with the issues of people that aren't legal citizens and paying taxes? I think not, yet we do.
By now you probably think I am as evil a person as walks the planet for espousing illegal immigrants have no rights in the United States including the right to due process. I am not against immigration, aside from Native Americans we are all immigrants. I just don't feel illegals deserve special our equal treatment under our laws. I'm all for everyone here legally to enjoy every right and privilege the law allows, I'm just against it be extended to people that haven't earned it. The bottom line is punishing those who do wrong doesn't mean the next step is punishing those who do right, and to make such an assumption is absurd. If illegal immigrants were to lose the privilege of due process extended to them it will not lead to legal citizens losing theirs.
Learn more about this author, Amanda Fox.
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