The Fiasco of Immigration

The heartless and illogical deportations of Eusebio Sanchez and Maria Mendoza-Sanchez have created the expected back-and-forth on social media among those who oppose the action and those that support it. The comments range from “heart-wrenching” and “cruel” to “deserved” and “it’s the law”. From a certain vantage point, both viewpoints have an element of truth.

Yes, they did enter the country illegally. Yes, they did break the law by doing that and by staying in the country. Yes, they are law-abiding citizens who have apparently done everything expected of good citizens: worked their entire lives; raised and educated a solid family; stayed within the law in all important matters; bought and maintained their own home; and paid their taxes. And, yes, they did try to find a path to legal citizenship during their stay in the United States. From all accounts, they are a family representative of how America was built – through productive, hard-working, law-abiding immigrants seeking a better life for their children.

The primary issue is our broken immigration system: our laws are outdated and not aligned with any consistent end goal; we have erratic and selective enforcement if any enforcement at all; our public policy is fragmented and illogical; and our administrative structure is dysfunctional. And, making matters even worse, this broken system is applied to individuals without compassion and/or with little regard for the unique circumstances surrounding each case; and sometimes out of fear of reprisal “from the top”. Or worse, out of personal bias and the prejudice of those charged with enforcing the law.

Immigration issues have never been easy and the legal cases coming through the system are rarely, if ever, exactly like the last one. Each one is a person or a family with unique circumstances related to why they immigrated, how they got here, and how they have conducted themselves since getting here. Of course, the argument against this is that the law is absolute and must be applied evenly and consistently to all. I believe in the letter of the law. I believe that laws are necessary in a civilized society; but the application of the laws in a blind fashion does not equate to justice despite the message of The Lady and Her Scales. The law, applied without regard for the facts and circumstances of each case and without compassion and humanity, often brings negative results and rarely generates justice.

In addition, we have statute of limitations throughout our legal system. Shouldn’t we have something similar in our immigration system? We allow criminals to get away with criminal acts if they evade capture for specified periods of time (i.e., if they evade capture for the period of applied statute of limitations for their specific crime.) We allow criminals who commit relatively serious crimes to turn themselves in and receive lessor sentences. How can we not apply the same logic to immigration issues? What public policy objective does it serve to deport two hard-working, law-abiding parents of four children, taking their US citizen son with them, and leaving their other children alone to maintain a house, complete their education, and struggle to keep some semblance of family? We have just dramatically increased the possibilities of another real estate foreclosure and for one or more of these individuals to become a burden on the system. The action unnecessarily exacerbates the already stressed relationships between ICE and local law enforcement. It serves no public policy…it does not result in justice…and the action taken by the legal system ignores the circumstances of the case.

Yes, there should be a penalty for entering this country illegally even if you live an exemplary life while here. However, wouldn’t it make much more sense to require five years of an applied “extra” tax? Or, require each child to serve at least two years in the military or America Corps or something similar? Or, require that the parents do x number of hours or years of community service while still working and maintaining their family? And, both parents and all DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) children have to achieve citizenship within two years of coming forward? Something that recognizes both the merits and the criminal acts of the situation, and which results in a positive outcome for everyone – the family, society, and the law?

It is long past time that our dysfunctional Congress and our irresponsible elected federal officials come together and solve this common problem in the best interests of our country, the world image of the United States, and the emotional health of thousands of “illegal” immigrants in our borders — to hell with party lines and the insane leadership under which we all currently suffer. Perhaps we could just responsibly and efficiently conduct the people’s business for once?