By: Daniel Nardini
To paraphrase former Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s phrase, “one death is a tragedy, a million deaths are a statistic,” it seems that U.S. immigration’s view that 1,000,000 deported undocumented are little more than a statistic to them (according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, one million undocumented have been deported over the past three years). Even though the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had announced that they were going to “review” those in deportation hearings, this did not say anything about stopping immigration raids nor demanding state and county governments to hand over any undocumented whether they committed a crime or not to U.S. immigration. Despite the stated goal by Homeland Security that it was only looking to jail and deport “violent offenders,” its deeds do not match its words. It has deported people for either minor offenses or even no offenses other than being undocumented.
But, the brave law enforcement institutions for the State of Illinois and Cook County have indeed taken a brave stand. Although they say that it is not a moral stand, I still applaud them for what they have done. They reasoned it out economically. To hold someone who has committed a misdemeanor (such as a traffic violence or disorderly conduct) in jail would have cost $143 a day for one person just because U.S. immigration wants them to hold a person until they can figure out that person’s immigration status. For a misdemeanor all the rest of us would have to appear in court and pay a fine. For the U.S. government to demand that someone to be kept in jail because of a question about their immigration status is a waste of money for any state. And what if the federal government guesses wrong? There are a growing number of cases where those detained were in fact U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Nevertheless, many states have had to waste money to hold them until they are cleared by immigration.
I should emphasize again that being undocumented in the United States is a civil violation and not a criminal one. And to put it in more human terms, we are talking about a person who is most likely working, is taking care of his/her family, maybe owns property, and pays taxes. Right now with the way things are going in the Great Recession, many states are broke, crime is going through the ceiling in many cities, and there just is not enough room nor money for incarcerating minor offenders (or undocumented who have committed no crime at all). It still has not occurred to Homeland Security that things are economically tight for law enforcement, they have really bad guys to catch, and the best way to deal with the number of undocumented is change the immigration system. In the mean time, I applaud those law enforcement who are more interested in protecting their constituents than playing immigration games. For all of us, we do not want to be a statistic of anything.
One Deportation is a Tragedy, 1,000,000 Are a Statistic
By: Daniel Nardini
But, the brave law enforcement institutions for the State of Illinois and Cook County have indeed taken a brave stand. Although they say that it is not a moral stand, I still applaud them for what they have done. They reasoned it out economically. To hold someone who has committed a misdemeanor (such as a traffic violence or disorderly conduct) in jail would have cost $143 a day for one person just because U.S. immigration wants them to hold a person until they can figure out that person’s immigration status. For a misdemeanor all the rest of us would have to appear in court and pay a fine. For the U.S. government to demand that someone to be kept in jail because of a question about their immigration status is a waste of money for any state. And what if the federal government guesses wrong? There are a growing number of cases where those detained were in fact U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents. Nevertheless, many states have had to waste money to hold them until they are cleared by immigration.
I should emphasize again that being undocumented in the United States is a civil violation and not a criminal one. And to put it in more human terms, we are talking about a person who is most likely working, is taking care of his/her family, maybe owns property, and pays taxes. Right now with the way things are going in the Great Recession, many states are broke, crime is going through the ceiling in many cities, and there just is not enough room nor money for incarcerating minor offenders (or undocumented who have committed no crime at all). It still has not occurred to Homeland Security that things are economically tight for law enforcement, they have really bad guys to catch, and the best way to deal with the number of undocumented is change the immigration system. In the mean time, I applaud those law enforcement who are more interested in protecting their constituents than playing immigration games. For all of us, we do not want to be a statistic of anything.