Guest Column: Illegal Immigration: Finding A Punishment That Fits The Crime! by Monty Berns

Illegal Immigration: Finding A Punishment That Fits The Crime! by Monty Berns

Don’t be fooled, the sticking point of any comprehensive immigration reform plan is not a guest worker plan, nor better border security, nor increased interior enforcement. These issues can easily be worked out since both Democrats & Republicans want better border security & workplace enforcement. Even though the issue of a guest worker program might be slightly more contentious both sides still seem determined to devise a guest worker program that will reflect the economic needs of the country. That leaves the thorny issue of the treatment of the existing 12 million undocumented workers already living in the U.S. Unfortunately there is no such consensus regarding this issue. On the one hand are those who recognize the human factor involved in illegal immigration. This group endorses a path of legalization to many of the 12 million undocumented workers that pay fines and meet a long list of criteria. On the other hand are those who consider all undocumented workers as lawbreakers & even criminals. This group is pushing an enforcement only agenda & vehemently opposes any legalization program. Not surprisingly, they are not very vocal in the specifics in dealing with the 12 million already living in the U.S. but their intentions are clear. According to CBS Lou Dobbs, who is to be featured on 60 minutes, in response to being asked if the government could deport all illegal immigrants answers, “I’ve never called for their deportation, But at the same time, when this president and open-borders, illegal-alien-amnesty advocates say, ‘You can’t deport them,’ my answer is, ‘You want to bet?’ because this is the United States. I think this country can do anything it sets its mind to,” Although the rest of these enforcement only advocates might not publicly declare their intentions like Dobbs, it is obvious that they also favor mass deportation or alternatively, through their policy of enforcement, slowly & cruelly starving or restricting any undocumented immigrants out of the country. What Dobbs, Tancredo & their ilk do not seem to comprehend is the actual severity of the initial law-breaking act of illegal entry into the U.S. The overwhelming majority of undocumented workers crossed the border with the sole intention of providing for their families and seeking a better life for their children. Any person who claims they would not break such a law to provide for their children is totally blinded by privilege or not telling the truth. Yet according to the enforcement only lobby it seems like every undocumented worker has committed aggravated burglary or murder and is deserving of a life sentence. For someone who has been here for many years & established roots, deportation or loss of employment as a result of total enforcement is akin to a life sentence. So to get anywhere with comprehensive immigration reform we must recognize the true nature of this law breaking act and then work out an appropriate punishment. True justice takes into account all circumstances and factors involved in any crime or law breaking act….our justice system has always worked in this manner. After Katrina devastated New Orleans I recall reading that certain instances of looting would not be prosecuted since people had taken flashlights or food that could be considered necessity items. I’m sure Mr. Dobbs and all those calling for only the application of the written would have, instead, insisted on prosecuting regardless of any extenuating circumstances…..you steal a bottle of water and you go to jail – NO EXCUSES! In the case of illegal immigration we are similarly obligated to take into account all extenuating circumstances most important of which are the humanitarian factors and motives involved. We must also recognize that for many years our government had been complicit in illegal immigration. Through a lack of enforcement the Federal government turned a blind eye so that business, small and large, had access to an endless supply of cheap labor. We left the door open, we shouted over the fence for those hardworking people and they came in numbers. So we let them work, let them bring over their families and we turned the other way when it came to enforcement. Now it is our responsibility to work out an appropriate solution & punishment for the 12 million or so illegal immigrants living in the U.S. And considering all the circumstances any reasonable person would agree that deportation for people who have lived here for years is NOT a an appropriate or fair punishment. So we must devise a solution/punishment that incorporates our economic and social concerns but also treats people humanely. Excluding illegal immigrants from social benefit programs for long periods, increased fines, mandatory English proficiency, are only a few of the possible requirements for a legalization program. Some might find it surprising the extent to which our undocumented workers are willing to go to emerge from the shadows. But even though these undocumented workers will accept almost any restrictions and fines to earn a path to legalization the opposite applies to the enforcement only mob. To them any amount of conditions and fines still equates to amnesty. This is why it needs to be explained at every opportunity that we are dealing with human beings and not cattle and we must consider all the extenuating circumstances surrounding illegal immigration. In this way the dishonest enforcement only law breaking argument, ‘these people broke our law so must be deported’, is exposed. And only when dishonest arguments are buried can comprehensive immigration reform succeed.