Reviewing the Amnesty Debate

By Joseph Chamie | Thursday, December 18, 2008

In virtually every corner of the world, developed and developing societies alike are struggling with illegal immigration. In many countries, there are few topics more controversial than granting amnesty to illegal aliens. To better understand this often confusing and emotional subject, Joe Chamie provides an overview of the debate.


Reasons for amnesty

# 1. Abuse: Granting legalization will reduce abuses against illegal aliens, who are often afraid to report crimes and maltreatment against them for fear of being deported.

# 2. Compassion: As most of the illegal aliens are simply seeking work in order to better the lives of their families and to escape from poverty, compassion should be extended to them by permitting them to become legal residents.

# 3. Costs: In addition to the logistical problems, considerable financial costs are incurred in sending illegal aliens back to their home countries.

# 4. Crime: Legalization of illegal aliens will reduce crime because they will be more willing to come forward to report crimes to the authorities.

# 5. Economics: In addition to paying taxes, many important sectors of the economy, especially agriculture, depend on the labor of illegal aliens, who often work on tasks that natives eschew.

# 6. Entitlement: As they have resided, worked and contributed to their new communities for years, illegal aliens should be entitled to remain in the country legally and to apply for citizenship.

# 7. Exploitation: As they fear being reported to the authorities and subsequently deported, illegal aliens are reluctant to complain about labor exploitation and sub-standard working conditions.

# 8. Fairness: It would be unfair to deport these people back to their home countries, which are often plagued by poverty, lack of opportunity, political instability and armed conflict.

# 9. Family: Many of the illegal aliens have family members, including children, who are citizens or legal residents in the country. Every effort should be made to keep families intact, which is in the best interests of the children and society at large.

# 10. Logistics: It is an enormously difficult undertaking for government authorities to identify, locate and deport illegal aliens.

# 11. Rights: It would be a violation of basic human rights to expel people seeking to improve their lives simply because they lack the legal documents permitting them to remain in their new homes.

# 12. Security: It is in the national interests of the country to permit legalization and a path to citizenship for illegal aliens, as it strengthens and revitalizes the nation — and also increases its overall security.

Reasons against amnesty

# 1. Borders: Amnesty increases the pressures for further illegal immigration at the nation’s borders.

# 2. Costs: It will be costly to taxpayers to grant amnesty to illegal aliens, especially with regard to providing education, health care, welfare and other social services.

# 3. Crime: Amnesty encourages trafficking and smuggling of illegal aliens who are willing to pay high prices to enter a country that periodically grants amnesty for illegal immigration.

# 4. Environment: Granting amnesty increases the size of a nation’s population, thereby negatively impacting its environment.

# 5. Fairness: Providing amnesty to illegal aliens penalizes legal aliens who have properly followed the rules — and delays the immigration of others patiently waiting abroad.

# 6. Governance: Democratically elected governments ought to respect public opinion, which is opposed to granting amnesty to illegal aliens.

# 7. Law: As it is clearly unlawful to enter, remain or work in a country without proper governmental authorization, granting amnesty undermines the rule of law among a nation’s citizens.

# 8. Logistics: Granting amnesty is a costly bureaucratic nightmare and very difficult to implement without corruption at nearly every stage of the process (e.g., fraud, intimidation, bribes, etc.).

# 9. Rewards: Granting amnesty to illegal aliens rewards unlawful behavior and encourages others, especially family and community members, to sneak into the country in hopes of a future amnesty, which often happens not too long after the initial amnesty is granted.

# 10. Security: As illegal aliens enter or reside unlawfully without proper initial security clearance and health screening, granting amnesty threatens national security and public health.

# 11. Wages: Amnesty of illegal aliens depresses the wages of native and lawful workers by increasing the supply of workers, many of whom are willing to work for much less than the prevailing wages.

# 12. Trust: Granting amnesty to illegal aliens undermines the public trust, as past amnesties were to be “the last.â€