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RSS FeedIllegal immigration: Should states take on the burden of enforcement?
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| No | 40% | 112 votes | Total: 281 votes | |
| Yes | 60% | 169 votes |
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Add to FavoritesHistorically, most law enforcement is accomplished at the most local level possible. The town cop or county sheriff who knows most of the locals is preferred over some higher authority, as long as the local enforcement hasn't been corrupted by bigotry or an imbalance of power. State police have historically focused mostly on highway safety and the FBI generally stays out of enforcement unless it involves interstate flight or a specific violation of federal law. Ideally, the laws being enforced were set in place by a legislature subject to the will of the people. With immigration issues these assumptions break down.
What is the crime of an illegal immigrant? Being born in the wrong place should not be considered criminal behavior. Is it wrong to want to live in another land? To whom do we grant authority to deny that urge? How draconian will we allow enforcement to become? Most of the inhabitants of North America are descendants of immigrants. Who has the right to say no more may enter? What litmus test imbues legitimacy upon immigrants?
Inherent human rights are not altered by citizenship. If you read the Bill of Rights, you will discover that our Constitution does not grant rights to citizens or anyone else. It limits government from interfering with the natural rights that all humans have from birth. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights expands upon this concept to assert the sanctity of dignity to all people everywhere.
To restate the original question, is there a role for state and local government in dealing with immigrants? Yes, most certainly. We should each use whatever authority we have to protect the dignity and equal liberty of every human being. State governments should resist authoritarian maneuvers by the federal government. This is a representative democracy, not a police state.
I'm proud to have lived in Mukilteo, Washington. During World War Two, the citizens of this seaside village came to the aid of local residents of Japanese ancestry. When federal authorities came to arrest them and lock them away in concentration camps, they found nobody home. Nobody was able to give any clues where the Asian immigrants might be hiding, though they were protected by their neighbors for the remainder of the war.
May we all be bold enough to insist that humanity supersedes nationality. No human is illegal. Immigration laws must be changed when they make it difficult for humble people to live healthy lives. Don't ask us to enforce rules that fall short of our values.
Learn more about this author, Vernon Huffman.
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Yes
The problem the burden of illegal immigration and the states taking on the burden of enforcement is a three fold problem.
The government has the job of homeland security, which encompasses not only this country's boarders but also extends to foreign soil. Since the military was slashed in the terms of manpower and equipment, the gates were opened for private security companies (Blackwater to name just one) to secure the safety of diplomats and to aid in homeland security where the manpower is lacking. These people come at a very high cost to the taxpayer. Not to mention adding the already monstrous deficit the government keeps accruing.
Number two is the states' burden. It has to regulate the many things with as many agencies as the federal government. Add to that the state welfare programs that abusers and illegal immigrants are adding too. All the extra translators that these agencies have to hire, the stress on the education system, the health systems, in general all of the services that were formed as a 'helping hand'.
Number three is the large cities were these things are occurring, they have a burden also, with more agencies being involved, including more law enforcement. These cities are also saying someone else needs to take the burden of enforcement, they go back to the government, they go back to the states they go to the cities. When all is said and done it comes back to the tax payer in the form of more funding.
Once an illegal crosses the boarder, they have infiltrated the states, which then becomes the problem of the state and of the city. The city's becomes the states problem. So in all reality it is a state problem, with the city being an 'offshoot' of that problem.
When a raid to unseat illegal immigrants, that are involved in illegal actions, occurs it needs to be supported (the enforcement of that law). It's a sad thing to see when the law of the land is enforced (an example deportation) and crowds of people that turn out with overwhelming support protesting in favor of the unlawful action that has taken place.
One such action was brought before national attention when a woman, an illegal immigrant, took refuge in a church in Chicago. She was here illegally, for ten years. She had enough time to have a child who was eight years old by this time, she had a false social security card and held a job at a major airline. How many other laws had she broken that we are unaware of? When she was deported the support she received was incredible.
Another incident was when a community in Chicago again was raided, a currency exchange involving making and distributing false social security cards, false drivers licenses, drugs, extortion, and murder. The community came out in protest of this raid and so did many 'leaders' of the people.
Tracking down illegal immigrants is the fed's job along with the states along with responsible citizens of this land. If you have a broken window you fix it, if someone breaks the law you report it. Then you support the law. That is how a problem gets fixed.
Citizens can not continue to sit back with a blind eye and blame every agency for problems that arise. Laws are in place, citizens and legal immigrants need to help the states with this problem.
Learn more about this author, Paulette Redemske.
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