Sunday, September 18, 2005
Immigration Issues Unaffected by Rehnquist/O'Connor Replacements - Congress is Where the Action Is
With the sudden passing of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Rehnquist and the previously announced retirement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, there has been much speculation and discussion on the effect of John O'Connor's being named Chief Justice and of O'Connor's yet to be named successor, on the court's rulings on abortion, church and state separation and various civil rights that have come to be accepted as protected by the U.S. Constitution through Supreme Court rulings going back to the mid 20th Century. However, it is doubtful that little, if any changes are in store for the Supreme Court's position on immigration, such as it is. The Supreme Court long ago granted the Congress virtually unfettered discretion to treat "aliens" virtually however way the government sees fit. An alien who one day is perfectly legal in the US, can be illegal the next (and vice versa). A lawful permanent resident who commited a crime many years ago as a youth, served his time and has been clean since then is not deportable. Then suddenly, Congress changes the law, makes the change retroactive and now he IS deportable. Same person, same crime, same subsequent clean record, only now he is subject to detention and removal proceedings. Why now and not before? That does not matter, it is within Congress's discretion. Short answer? Expand the opportunities that currently "undocumented," or "illegal" "aliens" have to become "legal" and be a normal part of society.
As the US voter's elected representatives, Congress has unfortunately often reflected the biases, prejudices, even hatreds of the American voter through history. This history is most obvious and well documented in the history of the civil rights movement. In the immigration area, it has favored laws, periodically, that either limit or stop immigration or, more recently, punish immigrants. Laws have been enacted which either punish immigrants directly or as a by product of the war against terror. The 1996 IRIIRA law was an example of the latter. The Anti Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1995 and the Real ID act are examples of the former. Both of these were ostensibly to make us all safer. In fact, the extremist anti immigration lobby has taken advantage of the population's anti terrorist concerns to mix its traditional hatred of "all immigrants who are not like me" with pious concern with protecting the U.S. against future 9/11's.
In the continuing debate on immigration reform, Congress has an opportunity to fix a broken system, to incorporate new immigrants into U.S. society as it has over two hundred years and to help employers gain the employees that they need so badly. The Kennedy/McCain bill seems to be the best able to accomplish this, of any of the pending legislative efforts.
gcf
As the US voter's elected representatives, Congress has unfortunately often reflected the biases, prejudices, even hatreds of the American voter through history. This history is most obvious and well documented in the history of the civil rights movement. In the immigration area, it has favored laws, periodically, that either limit or stop immigration or, more recently, punish immigrants. Laws have been enacted which either punish immigrants directly or as a by product of the war against terror. The 1996 IRIIRA law was an example of the latter. The Anti Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1995 and the Real ID act are examples of the former. Both of these were ostensibly to make us all safer. In fact, the extremist anti immigration lobby has taken advantage of the population's anti terrorist concerns to mix its traditional hatred of "all immigrants who are not like me" with pious concern with protecting the U.S. against future 9/11's.
In the continuing debate on immigration reform, Congress has an opportunity to fix a broken system, to incorporate new immigrants into U.S. society as it has over two hundred years and to help employers gain the employees that they need so badly. The Kennedy/McCain bill seems to be the best able to accomplish this, of any of the pending legislative efforts.
gcf
