Mexican "Illegals": The Case For Amnesty

With all the wild rioting taking place, it would appear there is no moderate position to be taken on the issue of illegal immigrants. Judging from what we see in the media, it's either Lou Dobbs-style revenge politics or throwing stones at the police. But nothing is that simple.

I'll begin my argument by making it clear that our borders should be secured. North and South.

But the issue of what to do about "illegal" immigrants is not just a matter of opinion. It's a matter of law.

Consuetudo pro lege servatur. Or, "custom is kept above the law". This sentence is centuries old. We can't ignore it. Let's examine what it means for people who have crossed the Mexican border illegally.

Here's my favorite example of a consuetudo. Everyone has walked across the street on a red light. It's a crime, whether you caused multiple crashes or you did it when no cars were coming. Technically, they can prosecute you for it. They largely do not, however, for one simple reason: although it's technically a crime, the people, their state representatives, and law enforcement agents do not consider it as such. And so we can legally break that rule.

But what happens when a cop sees you walking a red light and tickets you, although you caused no risk to anyone? In this case you should defend yourself by claiming that "custom is kept above the law". The "crime" is actually not a crime, because over the years it has gained the status of a legal consuetudo.

This is a legal standard in every civilised country.

Now let's get to the specific issue of border-crossing. For centuries, Mexicans have been coming to our country, and we have been accepting them (or 99% of them) wholeheartedly, mainly because they accept jobs we don't want, at low wages. So the American people don't mind illegal immigration. Our representatives in Congress have never seriously tried to stop illegal immigration. And so there has never been any serious attempt at border enforcement. The number of border patrol agents is ridiculous, so I would go as far as to say that the real policy of our country is to encourage illegal immigration. Thus crossing the border illegally can be considered a legal custom.

Only recently has there been a half-serious attempt to secure the border. So let's assume that as of 2007, crossing the border is no longer a consuetudo, but a full-fledged crime. Even so, "Illegals" who are already here should be granted amnesty, because they committed the crime when it was a consuetudo. A centuries-old consuetudo.

The fact that the perpetrators are Mexicans is irrelevant. If you commit a crime in the U.S., it doesn't matter whether you're a citizen or not, you get the same punishment in either case. And going back to the streetlight example, there's no difference between an American crossing on a red light and a non-citizen committing the same crime. A Mexican who illegally came here last year should not be prosecuted for it. I wish "Illegals" would use this argument to their advantage. Violent riots won't help anybody.

-Carmelo Modica