Indigenous Xicano's Post

Indigenous Xicano”s “The Law is the Law” is a generally moderate and well-written post that is worth thoughtful consideration.

He writes “The law is the law. So let us treat everyone the same. Show empathy for first-time offenders. Offer an avenue of forgiveness as we do to those who break the law and never get in trouble again. Allow good hard working people a chance to pay a price for their crime of illegal entry...”

Unfortunately he glibly dismisses phrases like, “… ‘the law is the law’ and, ‘no nation can exist without laws’ by declaring them to be meaningless in any intelligent conversation. Without those introductory remarks his post would have been more effective. His cavalier dismissal of such important concepts lost some potential readers immediately.

He goes on to explain the first “meaningless” phrase by giving its real meaning as

“…it is against the law to enter, reside, and work in the U.S.” if you have not followed the proper procedures and obtained the proper documents." There is nothing meaningless about that. He adds that the law requires that "...workers who are here illegally should be deported." Again there is nothing meaningless about that aspect of the law if one believes in national sovereignty and secure borders.

Xicano agrees that “…no nation can exist without laws”, the very foundation of civilized society. But his argument breaks down when he then suggests that this does not include any laws with which he disagrees or which in his personal judgment are not working. He does not indicate who appointed him as the final arbiter of which laws are not working and which are simply not being enforced by the current Administration for political reasons.

Xicano does admit that some laws are needed and good, for example, those that proscribe murder as a solution to societal problems. However, he doesn’t address the fact that those laws do not prevent murder and many go unsolved and unpunished. Yet, he uses that very argument against immigration laws. The only difference is the immigration laws have rarely been properly and vigorously enforced. When they were, the result was astonishingly effective. If it was easy to impeach Administration officials for their failures in that regard, the problem would be quickly solved and the argument against those laws would fall on deaf ears.

We can concede that no laws are perfect in their conception and execution. However, we cannot agree that the “…presence and functionality of illegal immigration suggest that the current laws do not work.” While they are far from adequate for the 21st century, no judgment can be made about their effectiveness because they have not been continuously and vigorously enforced in a consistent way that would enable such an assessment. Xicano seems to suggest that if laws are not working because of their imperfections or a lack of enforcement, we should simply sweep the problem under the carpet by changing the law to absolve those who have violated the law. Such an approach would truly undermine the rule of law and encourage people to follow only those laws that serve their purposes and that are consistent with their risk tolerance.

Citing the Michael Vick example of forgiveness and another chance, Xicano tries to convince us that we should extend the same opportunity to non-citizens. He fails to mention that Michael Vick did a significant amount of prison time and that he can no longer even own a dog. First time immigration offenders are usually given a second chance. They generally can self-deport without any other consequences unless they have committed a felony in which case they may have to serve time like Michael Vick did before they are free to return to their homelands. In other words, we do allow good hard-working people a chance to pay for their crime of illegal entry by correcting their previous transgressions and returning to their homelands until they can return legally. Self-deportation is a huge loophole in the law because those who self-deport can and do return without being considered felons subject to mandatory removal.