Constitutional Rights Belong to Everyone in the United States
To the editor:
Acommon misunderstanding of some right-wing commentators and a few writers on this opinion page is that people who enter the country illegally have no constitutional rights. While immigration laws determine whether a person has legal authorization to enter or remain in the United States, the Constitution provides many fundamental protections to all persons within the nation’s borders. This distinction is one of the defining characteristics of the American legal system.
The Constitution carefully distinguishes between the terms “citizen” and “person.” Certain constitutional rights, such as voting in federal elections, are reserved for citizens. However, many of the Constitution’s most important protections apply to every person within the jurisdiction of the United States.
The Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments state that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. Likewise, the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment protects every person from arbitrary or discriminatory treatment by the government. These rights include those who have entered our country illegally.
The United States Supreme Court has repeatedly affirmed this principle. In Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886), the Court declared that the protections of the Fourteenth Amendment are “universal in their application” to all persons within the United States. In Wong Wing v. United States (1896), the Court held that non-citizens cannot be subjected to criminal punishment without the constitutional protections guaranteed by law.
More recently, in Plyler v. Doe (1982), the Court ruled that children living in the United States without legal immigration status were entitled to the Equal Protection Clause. In Zadvydas v. Davis (2001), the Court reaffirmed that the Due Process Clause applies to all persons in the United States, regardless of immigration status.
These constitutional protections do not prevent the federal government from enforcing immigration laws. Congress has broad authority over immigration. Individuals who are not lawfully present can be detained and removed through legal proceedings. However, the Constitution requires that these actions be carried out in accordance with due process and other constitutional safeguards.
America must have secure borders. We have every right to enforce our immigration laws and protect our country. Open borders and closed borders are both bad for our country. We should never sacrifice the Constitution in the process of protecting our borders. Or our humanity.
In recent years, ICE and Border Patrol, following the draconian policies of President Trump, have faced serious charges for separating families, holding people in overcrowded, unhealthy detention centers, conducting aggressive and sometimes lethal raids, mistakenly detaining US. citizens, and raising troubling questions about due process. Unfortunately the Trump administration has ignored the principle that even immigration enforcement has constitutional limits.
Claiming that illegal immigrants are mostly rapists, murderers, and welfare cheats is wrong because it relies on harmful stereotypes rather than evidence. It unfairly labels millions of people as criminals based on the actions of a small number of individuals. The evidence is remarkably consistent - undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than US. born Americans when crime rates are compared on a per-capita basis.
The strongest data come from Texas, one of the few states that records immigration status in criminal justice records. Peer-reviewed research found native-born citizens are significantly more likely to be arrested for violent, drug, and property crimes, while conviction data show higher overall homicide conviction rates among US born Americans. Although undocumented immigrants do commit crimes, the best available evidence shows they are arrested, and convicted, and incarcerated at lower rates than native-born citizens.
In addition, describing illegal immigrants as mostly welfare cheats ignores the fact that they are not eligible for federal public assistance programs and that many work, pay taxes, and contribute to the economy. Immigration is a complex issue involving border security, labor markets, humanitarian concerns, and the rule of law. Meaningful discussion should be based on reliable data rather than emotionally charged, illinformed generalizations.
The true test of the American way is not how we treat the popular or the powerful. It is how we treat those with the fewest resources and the weakest voices. If the government can ignore constitutional protections for one group today, those same protections become weaker for everyone tomorrow. Protecting the rights of the least of us insures the rights of all of us.
This is not a Republican issue or a Democratic issue. It is an American issue. Our Constitution was written to limit the power of government and to protect individual liberty. We can have secure borders and still insist that every government agency obey the Constitution. Those goals are not in conflict. They define what makes America different from the authoritarian nations that we have always opposed.
Additional concerns include allegations that some immigration detainees have been transferred to unhealthy detention facilities or dangerous prisons outside the United States under agreements with foreign governments, raising questions about their safety and legal protections.
There have also been legal challenges concerning the right of habeas corpus and judicial review for detainees, as well as anger over immigration enforcement actions conducted without judicial warrants. Furthermore, documented cases have shown that US. citizens have occasionally been mistakenly detained or arrested during aggressive immigration enforcement operations. That is not the way the American system of justice is supposed to work.
These issues demonstrate why constitutional protections are essential. They are not limited to citizenship or lawful immigration status. They are limitations on government power. Whether an individual is a citizen, a lawful permanent resident, a visitor, or someone who entered the country unlawfully, the Constitution establishes the legal standards that government officials must follow.
Yet, President Trump and the sycophants in his administration consider constitutional principles an inconvenience. Trump’s lawlessness is shielded by a radical right-wing Supreme Court who proclaimed that the US president is not accountable for anything he does as president. I wish MAGA folks good luck with that precedent when a Democrat becomes president. Yeah, think about it.
Next November we must vote for candidates, Republican of Democratic, who support our Constitution and are not afraid of upsetting President Trump. We the people must elect those men and women who believe that protecting the rights of the least of us protects the rights of all of us. Vote.
Bill Balch La Grange