In tonight’s AEI/Heritage Foundation sponsored Republican debate aired on CNN, Newt Gingrich was drawn into a discussion concerning what should be done in regards to the 11-12 million illegal immigrants currently residing in the United States. He staked out a position in which he implied that we should not deport all 11-12 million illegal immigrants.
Romney and Bachmann were quick to jump on this in an attempt to differentiate themselves from the former Speaker, however, Gingrich made a point that is worth considering for the conservative. If one is faced with a situation in which an illegal immigrant has been here for 25 years, has family and community roots, and has otherwise obeyed the law, is deportation the answer? It is interesting that Romney seemed to suggest that anything less than deportation amounts to a magnet, yet walked that back by saying that Republicans should not debate who goes and who stays. If this means that everyone illegal should go, then it would be interesting to find out if Romney supports attempting to enforce mass deportation.
The reality is that deportation is not the only answer. If mass deportation is employed then families will be impacted, and we will be faced with the possibility that American citizens (natural born children of illegal immigrants) will also be deported in a de facto sort of way if the parents are able to take the kids with them. Either that, or those families will be divided by force of government.
This is not to say that illegal immigrants should not be reprimanded. It is important that the rule of law be preserved; however, the rule of law cuts both ways, individuals are bound to obey the civil authorities, yet the civil authorities are also bound to higher law which governs not only what the civil law should be, but also how the civil law should be executed. A true adherence to the rule of law requires that the civil laws regarding immigration be enforced while the higher laws regarding the execution of those civil laws be observed. If in fact mass deportation will divide families and, as some have suggested, cause very real harm to people who have committed no crime, then perhaps it would be in the best interest of the country as a whole for the government to seek enforcement of the law through different means.
The real debate for conservatives is not whether illegal immigrants will be reprimanded, but rather what that reprimand will be.
Certainly, deportation should be employed for some illegal immigrants, especially those who have come here with the intention of committing further crimes. Yet the question I am posing here is whether this reprimand should be employed for each and every illegal immigrant currently residing in the United States.
There are many very reasonable people who suggest that deportation for all 11-12 million illegal immigrants is the answer to the very real problem of illegal immigration. However, a discussion needs to commence as to whether or not mass deportation of all those here illegally is truly the best way to ensure the rule of law.
