Our laws are meant to stop people from doing unlawful things and penalize those who disregard them. Our immigration laws, however, are different because their focus is not on the transgression but on the plight of those who have broken the laws and what can be done to lift the stigma they feel so they can normalize their lives.
In fact, reporters have been advised not to use the words “illegal immigrant” when referring to those who snuck into this country in violation of American immigration laws because this description is considered to be mean-spirited, if not racist.
No one cares if ordinary American citizens break the law and have to live in the shadows, nor are there attempts to conjure up euphemisms for their illegal acts. There are no sanctuary cities protecting American shoplifters or jaywalkers from the long arm of the law. In some places illegal immigrants are treated as if they were in a witness protection program.
We are told it is impossible to find all the people who crossed the border illegally and violated our laws. Does anyone think because we cannot find all embezzlers, bank robbers and drunk drivers that we should stop trying to enforce the laws they violated?
Should we instead let them come out of the shadows and normalize their lives?
Ed Konecnik
Flushing
