Licenses for Illegal Immigrants??

[Disclaimer: This is a long post that deals with a lot of complex issues and includes lots of ties between different ideas. So before you read it, you may want to make yourself some of your favorite tea, find a nice place to recline, and then jump in. The author of this post discusses and attempts to resolve many tensions between political and moral obligations, probably unsuccessfully. Enjoy.]

Saturday, the Bush Administration and New York agreed on new drivers licenses that are "federally approved secure licenses." It is the fourth state to do so, following Arizona, Vermont, and Washington. Arizona, for example, has a 3-in-1 license which is intended to: act as a driver's license, a passport-like document, AND proof of U.S. citizenship. Because it has the same security and utility in North America as a passport, it is going to be useful for those Arizonans who regularly drive across the border and buy stuff. However, New York has taken a radically different approach.

New York is offering three-tiers of licensing. The first tier is similar to AZ's in that it is a passport-grade ID card. The second tier meets federal standards for the Real ID act, which is an attempt to make it much harder for terrorists and illegal immigrants to get the ID. Sounds good so far. But the third tier is a license specifically for "undocumented immigrants." What does that mean? NY is giving licenses to illegal immigrants.

First of all, I want to point out that Homeland Security is not very happy about this. Giving illegal immigrants licenses seems to validate and affirm their existence here, which sends the wrong message. But the spokesperson for Homeland Security said that there was nothing he could do about the situation, because the federal government gives the states power on this issue.

What I don't understand about the situation is: why would an illegal immigrant get such a license that would tag them as obviously illegal? I know that will prevent them from being arrested if they get pulled over, but isn't that the lesser of two evils? If you have a license that points you out as illegal, then the NY governor could later decide that he wants to crack down on illegal immigrants and everyone with the ID would be far more easily rooted out. There was a quote in the CNN article that said: "Officials, however, would not say whether that meant local law enforcement could use such a license as probable cause to detain someone they suspected of being in the U.S. illegally." I suspect that it at least opens up this door.

The article further states that 500,000 to 1,000,000 are undocumented immigrants are living in NY and many of these are driving with no license and no insurance, or fake-licenses. That sure seems like a problem to me. And I'm not sure that they way to fix the issue is by giving them a license.

What is the difference between illegal and undocumented immigrants? I'm not entirely sure. If you are an immigrant who has no documentation, doesn't that make you illegal? Is that just the nicer way of saying it? I suspect so.

With a million illegal immigrants in NY, this is a considerable problem. In some ways, these people help the economy by working for less than minimum wage (which I think is an unfair price floor...what right does the federal government have to say what a legal hourly wage is and that anyone employing someone for less than that is in trouble with the law? But that's another discussion). Yet I'm sure it creates problems with taxes and loyalty to the U.S. But what are the moral implications of this growing mess?

In an effort to keep the post to a managable length, I want to just make a few points to encourage thought on how a Christian (or morally-concerned person) ought to think about immigration.

Jesus tells us to love our neighbor. He does not qualify with: "whether your neighbor is there legally or not." This is obviously because in Jesus' day, his culture was not experiencing the same political issues because nations did not exist in the sense that they do today. So what if my neighbor is an illegal immigrant? Is it right to love them and help them by doing what you can to help them evade the gaze of Big Brother? Or is it more loving to the rest of your neighbors to rat-out this illegal neighbor? Is it wrong for you to not bring it to the attention to the government, because the government ought to know who is within its bounds legally so that it can expel (or legalize) those "undocumented" immigrants?

This sounds very much like a theological-political problem-of-sorts. It is similar to the kind of moral dilemma of Cory ten Boom...who should you obey first, the government or your conscience? What is your moral responsibility before God? And what rights do you have? What rights does the government have?

I usually find it helpful to step away from the questions that are right in front of me and look at the siutation from the perspective of: "what is the spirit of the situation?" More specifically, how could I be most honoring to God in this situation? I suspect the answer varies from case-to-case. Sometimes, the Spirit will prompt you to help that illegal immigrant; in other situations, it is necessary to turn that person in. And I think it is beneficial to ask: What is the role of government? It is to protect its people and ensure their liberties (at least, as understood in the context of America). So if the influx of more and more illegal immigrants means that U.S. citizens are going to be hurt economically, then the government ought to fix the problem. Economic hurt would be the symptom, the entrance of illegal immigrants would be the problem. What is the best way to fix the problem?

I am reminded of a decision that the Framers of the Constitution came to in 1789. One of the Southern representatives agreed that slavery was not a good thing, but also admitted to make it illegal and remove all slaves immediately was impossible. Thus he proposed that allowing the South twenty years to stop the importation of slaves would be the best compromise. I believe the wisdom of taking a gradual approach is very pertinent in the case of illegal immigrants in the U.S. Thinking specifically of the Mexican border, taking the time to build a complete fence ought to help as a preventative measure. Then discovering the immigrants still in the U.S. and deporting them in waves back to their country of origin over the course of many years would be wise. And just because a child of an illegal immigrant was born on U.S. soil ought not make that child a legal citizen...and even if it does, that does not mean that the parents deserve to stay. In the interests of not breaking up families, the parents and children ought to be sent back together. "What is citizenship?" is a question that will have to be determined in order to resolve the situation. Additionally, if all of the illegal immigrants were sent back in the same wave (it's not possible, but for the sake of emphasis, let us consider), the economic damage that would occur in many companies in the U.S. would be monstrous. That is why a gradual approach is wise. I would be more prone to vote for a candidate next year who has a thoughtful, long-range plan on how to deal with this immigration issue.

They say that history, if not remembered, repeats itself. We ought not forget what happened to Rome. Please do not misinterpret my analogy. When Rome ruled in the days of Julius Caesar and even much later in the days of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman world was very secure from barbarian invasions. Rome was the ultimate military force in the world. But slowly, over the next two centuries, barbarians continued to be enveloped into the Roman Empire. Because the best way to prove loyalty and get presitige was by being in the army, many barbarians were in the army. Then Rome started having some serious problems. In 410 A.D., the Vandals invaded the empire and sacked Rome. The Visigoths did it again in 455 A.D. And of course, Rome finally fell in 476 A.D., thus ending the rule of the Romans. But the reason that Rome fell to the barbarians was two-fold. First, the empire was getting soft with depravity, but the second reason was that the Roman legion continued to be watered-down with barbarians who were not loyal to Rome, nor as talented and disciplined warriors. Thus the fifth century brought about significant defeats of Rome, which lead the their demise.

I point this out to encourage thought: Is the U.S. going through the same thing? Surely, the situation is more economic than militaristic, but the situation could ultimately have similar, devestating results. Are illegal immigrants weakening our country? How could they not be? They don't know the language and they don't have the loyalty, nor the skills! If that's not weakening, I'm not sure what to call it. And if we are being weakened, at what point does the weakness cause the nation to start breaking apart?

When it comes down to it, I'm very uncertain on what course of action ought to be taken. But, as Jim Collins encourages leaders to do in his book, Good To Great, facing the brutal facts is the first step in fixing any problem and creating a great situation. This is an issue that must be addressed, and very soon, as whatever strategy that is selected ought to be considered wisely over a period of time, and it will surely take even longer to implement. I'm not even sure that 20 years would be enough time, but that's a good start. Is what NY doing going to help the situation? I don't know. It is certainly unusual, and could prove beneficial down the road. After all, having more information is usually a good thing. But doesn't it send the wrong message to illegal immigrants? And even if not, what immigrants would actually go and get the license? 500,000 people? Doubtful.

Regardless of what happens politically, I realize that I am called to love and care for those in need. So as a Christian, I will see what I can to do to help these people on an individual level, with the intention of expanding the kingdom of God and making the world a better place. What would Jesus do (despite its terribly cliche nature) is a truly pertinent question here. So I will do my best to love these fellow image-bearers of God.

On a more cynical note, maybe I should start learning Spanish so that I can continue to order that double-cheeseburger of the dollar menu....