Normally on this page, when the issue of immigration arises, we would cite statistics showing that the typical justification for such a violent response to the so-called crime of unauthorized immigration is based on easily disproven pretexts.
At this point, anyone with an honest and open mind can acknowledge that U.S. citizens are much more likely than immigrants to commit crimes and smuggle illegal narcotics. Anyone with a layperson’s legal understanding of our immigration system knows that unauthorized entry or overstay is not a criminal penalty but a civil offense.
If one is still determined to view so-called illegal immigration as a crime, in the same vein as theft or violent assault, we are unlikely to change any minds. So today, as a thought experiment, we will concede this point: Unauthorized immigration is an issue worthy of some forcible government action, even deportation, as recent polling shows half of voters still support.
But even if one accepts punitive treatment against undocumented immigrants, as if they have committed a serious crime, unauthorized immigration is still not worthy of such violent and cruel remediation.
The punishment does not match the crime.