Illegal Immigration Insanity
So, in today's Post, we learn about a resolution in Prince William county which would seek "to deny some public services to illegal immigrants and allow local police officers and civilian officials to question people about their legal status, if there is probable cause, and notify federal immigration authorities."
Gosh...deny some public services to people here illegally, and question people about whether they're here illegally in cases in which there is probable cause?
The mildest of all possible proposals, you might say. Short of chartering buses to actually help people come here illegally, I'm not sure how one could do any less.
But in the article we learn of outrage in response to the bill, protests, a planned boycott of--get this--all non-immigrant businesses...and we are told by one Richard Juarez that "This law is built on hate and racism."
Seriously, I'm on the verge of getting completely fed up with this crap. There is nothing wrong with having reasonable immigration laws and taking at least minimal steps to enforce them. Unless you think that the very idea of the nation-state is immoral, and that nations have no right whatsoever to enforce their borders, none of this bullshit makes any sense. With every new wave of irrationality on this front I get a little less sympathetic with the people in question. And I've gotta say, ungrounded accusations of racism aren't helping matters any.
So, in today's Post, we learn about a resolution in Prince William county which would seek "to deny some public services to illegal immigrants and allow local police officers and civilian officials to question people about their legal status, if there is probable cause, and notify federal immigration authorities."
Gosh...deny some public services to people here illegally, and question people about whether they're here illegally in cases in which there is probable cause?
The mildest of all possible proposals, you might say. Short of chartering buses to actually help people come here illegally, I'm not sure how one could do any less.
But in the article we learn of outrage in response to the bill, protests, a planned boycott of--get this--all non-immigrant businesses...and we are told by one Richard Juarez that "This law is built on hate and racism."
Seriously, I'm on the verge of getting completely fed up with this crap. There is nothing wrong with having reasonable immigration laws and taking at least minimal steps to enforce them. Unless you think that the very idea of the nation-state is immoral, and that nations have no right whatsoever to enforce their borders, none of this bullshit makes any sense. With every new wave of irrationality on this front I get a little less sympathetic with the people in question. And I've gotta say, ungrounded accusations of racism aren't helping matters any.
posted by Winston Smith at
8:45 AM
2 Comments:
Agreed -- it is reasonable to expect some level of enforcement of immigration laws.
I think it is also reasonable to ask:
* Will such an effort on a local level be effective?
* Will it be a prudent use of limited county resources?
* Will this effort endanger personal safety or the public health? (E.g., denying medical services to illegal immigrants would endanger their heath and promote the spread of infections diseases because the illegals are untreated.)
* Will it promote racial stereotyping and racism? (Depending on how actions are carried out, they might.)
* Are those promoting the change predominantly driven by a desire to limit illegal immigration? Or is it primarily an effort gain political advantage by instilling fear among some citizens and pandering to racism in others?
But to presume it is driven by race-baiting is not justified.
Personally, I think we have far bigger problems than illegal immigration. Your mileage may vary.
Unless you think that the very idea of the nation-state is immoral...
Bingo. Unless it's some crappy third-world tyranny hostile to the United States.
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home