Search This Blog

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

CLASS RECAP FOR TUESDAY OCTOBER 20, 2009


-DEPORTATION POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES

-THE IDEA OF JUST VS. UNJUST DEPORTATION

"[D]eportation is . . . exile, a dreadful punishment, abandoned by the common consent of all civilized peoples. . . . That our reasonable efforts to rid ourselves of unassimilable immigrants should in execution be attended by such a cruel and barbarous result would be a national reproach."

--Judge Learned Hand, 1929

COURT OVERVIEW
IMMIGRATION COURT AND THE NEW YORK TIMES HANDOUT
US DOJ
EOIR- WHAT DOES IT STAND FOR?
OFFICE OF CHIEF COUNSEL
INVESTIGATIONS
DEPORTATION
NGAI'S "ILLEGAL ALIENS"

Joey wrote in response to a recent comment:

Joey Harmon said...
Wow. I think that rant is one of the more ignorant that I have heard in a long time. It's important to get "facts" from sources other than Fox News and Rush Limbaugh.
What should all of the people who have been living here "illegally" do? Should they all be sent back to their countries of origin en masse because they don't have a piece of paper? And if one of these people without that ever-important piece of paper gets sick, should we just let them die because "it's not our problem"? It's absurd to even think like that. These are not practical solutions. Our immigration system is BROKEN and sending people away from the US is not going to fix the system. E-verify is not going to fix it. People need to stop thinking that's it's just an economic issue or just a political issue or just an issue about one group of people and realize that these are real human beings we're talking about here, not just numbers or statistics. They deserve the chance to live a better life and to give their children a better life ("Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free"). The US is a country of immigrants, built and made strong by immigrants. What has changed? Is it that the face of these immigrants has changed and our old xenophobic roots have come back? Do we only want immigrants if their skin is the right color or if they speak the right language (i.e. of European/Germanic descent and language)?
Basing immigration policy on fear, politics, or economics without practical, feasible solutions is just going to create more problems. And don't you think shipping out all of the "illegal" immigrants or just letting them all die without healthcare on Main Street USA will be expensive, not to mention morally bankrupt?

2 comments:

Alanna said...

It has been mentioned numerous times in class that US immigration policy is a creature of politics and economics. A 2007 article from the NY Times (link below) seems to further demonstrate the inconsistencies behind the implementation of immigration policy. However, what is most disturbing about this article is that it illustrates inconsistencies with regard to asylum cases, cases that frequently involve life or death situations for the immigrant. The study which the article describes shows that Atlanta has the lowest percentage rate of refugees winning asylum. I wonder what it is in particular about Atlanta immigration courts that accounts for such a low number.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/31/washington/31asylum.html

Unknown said...

I liked the post very much. Awesome article to read. I have been seeking this type of knowledge for a long time and by posting this article you have made my work so much easier. Thanks.
Immigration Lawyers