Yesterday, the Trump administration rounded up 680 probable illegal immigrants from their jobs and is processing them for deportation. It’s likely most of them are guilty of the misdemeanor offense of being in the country illegally. Comparable misdemeanors include public intoxication, simple assault, and reckless driving. So yeah, these are crimes, but the perpetrators are not hardened criminals or risks to society. They were employees–productive tax paying members of society. Many had children, and many of those kids are citizens who have now been effectively orphaned in this country.
Sure, in one sense justice has been done. But in a practical sense what has been gained?
- There’s no reason to assume any of these people were a danger to anyone, so we’re not safer.
- Unemployment numbers are historically low and these people were working at jobs like deboning chickens. There’s hardly a waiting line of applicants trying to land these positions.
- The families left behind have lost most if not all of their income. What happens to them? In some cases this action will likely push citizens onto public assistance. Some of the orphaned kids will become wards of the state. For the government, this is unlikely a financial gain.
- The families left behind have also experienced an emotional trauma (especially the kids) and will likely resent the US and its government for this action. How does this aid in the assimilation of 2nd and 3rd generation immigrants?
- The companies these people worked for, the landlords they rented from, the bodegas they shopped in all benefited from their employment. They will all take a financial hit.
Justice must serve a societal purpose. If meting out justice doesn’t further the well-being of the citizens, then it’s just malice.
I’m not advocating “open borders”, but there is a reality to people who are already here. They’ve built a life here. You can argue that they shouldn’t have, but that’s water under the bridge. These are people who are productive citizens in every respect, excepting the paperwork. This is the citizenship equivalent of common-law marriage. By and large, most of these people worked way harder and sacrificed more to be American than you or I ever will. Are these really people we want to purge from society? Does their absence make us better?
