[Dean's World] Aziz P: Immigration: the facts on the ground

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Aziz P:
Immigration: the facts on the ground
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1189430131.shtml


   The discussion yesterday was largely fruitful. Several disagreed with
   the premise that illegal immigration is not a crime; Jody did the due
   diligence and dug up [1]USC, Title 8, Section 1325:

     Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at
     any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers,
     or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or
     (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a
     willfully false or misleading representation or the willful
     concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of
     any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more
     than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any
     such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than
     2 years, or both.

   However, there is an important clarification to this, namely that
   illegal presence is not a crime, only illegal entry. There was a
   [2]superb discussion (for once) about this at RedState, which included
   the following comment:

     The Law by AndrewHyman ([3]#11)

     People who immigrate legally but then overstay the term of valid
     legal visas are unlawfully present. That does not make them
     criminals.

     However, people who immigrate illegally (e.g. by sneaking across
     from Canada or Mexico without any kind of visa or other
     authorization) are criminals under 8 USC 1325.

   The distinction is important because for prosecution under Section
   1325 there must be proof of illegal entry. However, many illegal
   immigrants have simply overstayed a legal visa.

   Rudy's point about legal resources is also a critical one that far too
   many reflexively anti-immigration folks do the rule of law a grave
   disservice by brushing aside. In point of fact, legal resources are as
   subject to triage concerns as any other resource. If identifying the
   immigration entry method of 12 million laborers, and then initiating
   prosecution proceedings against the (presumably large) fraction of
   that 12 million under Section 1425, is a high priority for you then
   that's your right to advocate for. However, it will come with reduced
   prosecutions for almost every other federal crime, an increase in
   taxes at every level of government, or both. Keep in mind that the
   [4]total number of federal prosecutions in the 12 largest districts
   combined is projected to be 61,000 this year. Also keep in mind that
   [5]drug prosecutions are still projected to be 46% of the total, up
   from 41% last year.

   And it bears mentioning that these 12 million people are doing
   essential labor, which non-immigrants simply will not do. Case in
   point: the [6]fruit and vegetable harvests in North Carolina and
   California.

     The farms that supply Nash Produce were among many across the state
     that couldn't find enough workers last fall, and farmers say the
     problem could escalate this year. Enforcement raids have increased
     the cost to immigrants of sneaking over the border and discouraged
     many illegal immigrants from coming.

     Some worry that North Carolina will end up like California, where
     portions of last fall's crops rotted in the fields and ripe fruit
     fell from the trees because workers didn't come to pick them.

     This year, contractors are predicting that labor will be tight
     again, said Joyner, president of a cooperative of about a dozen
     growers, which includes Leggett. He said his farmers are so worried
     that they refused to plant all the cucumbers he could have sold
     this year. [...] "Americans today don't want to sweat and get their
     hands dirty," said Doug Torn, who owns a wholesale nursery in
     Guilford County. "We have a choice. Do we want to import our food
     or do we want to import our labor?"

   With the holiday season ahead, it's worth noting that [7]Christmas
   trees also are subject to the same labor issues.

   The bottom line is simply this: if you are against illegal immigrants
   on the basis of the rule of law, then that same rule of law demands
   that every single one of those 12 million immigrants get complete due
   process. And given that the vast majority of those 12 million people
   are doing essential and honest work that native born Americans won't
   do, it's a ludicrous waste of resources to do so. Even if 100% of all
   federal prosecutions today were devoted to this, it would still only
   amount to 0.5%. And even if we somehow were to manage to deport all 12
   million, they would be here the very next day, given that we have no
   meaningful way to police and control all [8]1,952 miles of border
   between the United States and Mexico.

   So what is the solution here? Well, that will be addressed more fully
   in my next post (and shaped in part by the debate here). But suffice
   to say for now as a hint that the present system is indeed
   unsustainable and harmful - but not for the reasons that the
   anti-immigration crowd thinks.

References

   1. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode08/usc_sec_08_00001325----000-.html
   2. http://www.redstate.com/blogs/the_bij/2007/sep/08/tom_tancredo_illegal_presence_in_the_usa_is_not_crime
   3. http://www.redstate.com/blogs/the_bij/2007/sep/08/tom_tancredo_illegal_presence_in_the_usa_is_not_crime#comment-517057
   4. http://trac.syr.edu/tracreports/pros/180/include/table_1.html
   5. http://trac.syr.edu/tracreports/pros/180/include/table_3.html
   6. http://www.reason.com/blog/show/120829.html
   7. http://www.reason.com/news/show/34143.html
   8. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States-Mexico_barrier