It’s Simple… Deportation
Have you ever been working on a problem - one that really is stumping you? Maybe it’s something you’re really good at - something you do professionally - and you’re sharing your problem with someone and they say “Why don’t you just…?” Most of the time what comes next is something you’ve already tried and ruled out. A helpful phrase I picked up a while back goes “If your suggestion starts with ‘Why don’t you just…’ - then you probably don’t understand the problem.” Of course this isn’t always true - maybe you missed something that this other person sees - but usually you’ve already considered the problem more deeply than others. You know the problem requires a more complex solution.
The same goes with “It’s simple…” arguments. I’ve been hearing these a lot lately. On multiple topics. For instance, on immigration and deportation: “It’s simple - you’re here illegally, you get deported.” This makes sense to us. “It’s simple” arguments aren’t nonsense arguments. The word “simple” doesn’t mean stupid, it means elegant, having few parts - and the good arguments (like this one) resonate with some deeper characteristic that we value. In this case it’s Justice.
“It’s simple - you’re here illegally, you get deported” is an argument in two parts: break the law, receive consequences. That’s really simple. Too simple maybe. Is there a chance we don’t understand the problem fully? To be sure, let’s look at each side of that argument separately. First up, “break the law” or specifically “you’re here illegally.”
Is it against the law to be in Belvidere, IL without proper documentation? It is not. In fact, a bill from 2005 (HR 4437) meant to change this, making simply being present in the US without proper documentation a felony. It did not pass the Senate. So as immigration law stands today in the US it is not a crime to simply be in a location without proper documentation (and no, the Laken Riley Act doesn’t change this).
Now, what is a crime is the act of entering the US without proper documentation. A misdemeanor akin to speeding. Simply being in the US without proper documentation is not against the law. According to current US law one may only be prosecuted for criminal undocumented presence after having been deported or removed previously. You may argue that the laws don’t make sense but laws are laws until they are changed. It turns out that breaking the law isn’t as cut and dry as the original argument claims.
So we’ve covered the “break the law” side, let’s talk about the other side of the argument: consequences - or in this case, deportation. Is deportation a just solution for those caught up in the current raids? Possibly. Let’s take a look.
The legal system in the US is made up of several groups of law and case types. The ones pertinent to our question are civil and criminal law. Criminal cases are disputes between federal, state, or local governments and a person who has allegedly broken a law. Criminal cases include things like murder, rape, theft, or drunk driving. Civil cases are disputes between people or organizations and include things like property damage, divorce, custody, or personal injury.
Immigration cases actually fall to the civil side of the justice system. The reasons why this is the case are above my pay grade, but comparing the case types (property damage and divorce vs. murder and drunk driving) it seems to me civil is the better fit.
Here’s an activity you can use your imagination with. You have a contractor who you’ve hired to renovate your kitchen. They are 6 months behind and paid in full. You decide to contact your attorney to file a suit to reclaim your money. Would you expect the next step in this process to be a police raid of your contractor’s property culminating in their arrest? No. Say you are commuting home after work and are rear-ended, resulting in a serious - even life-threatening injury. Thankfully you recover, but you pursue financial compensation for the time and pain lost to injury. That evening the police arrive at the other driver’s house and take them into custody. Is this just? Also no. These responses are what you would expect as responses to a criminal offense, but not a civil one.
I believe this is a good place to pause to point out a counterpoint - so here it is. If you are caught committing a criminal offense inside the US without proper documentation you may not only be prosecuted for that crime, but at that point your case may also result in deportation. I’m not arguing against this.
Given the complexity of the circumstances, you may begin to see why many of us feel so strongly that the current state of immigration enforcement in the US is unjust. Even if you’re not there yet, you have to admit that “It’s simple - you’re here illegally, you get deported” is not a sound argument.
“It’s simple…” arguments feel comforting because they are easy to understand, resonate with values we hold deeply, and because they allow us to postpone dealing with the complexities of the world we live in. However, being an American in the 21st Century is a complex thing. There’s no getting away from it. So next time you hear someone say “Why don’t you just…” or “It’s simple…” - think twice about what they say next.
