Editorial: Immigration law prompts more problems than it solves
July 9, 2008
Gov. Matt Blunt has signed an omnibus immigration bill that will dramatically cut down on the results of illegal immigration within Missouri, stating that he has done so in the interest of Missouri taxpayers and their needs. While we have no problem with many of the bill’s provisions, including fines for companies that deceptively misclassify their workers, we take issue with the clauses of the bill that could lead to racial profiling and that strip even legal citizens of their basic rights.
Under the new legislation, the Department of Revenue is not allowed to issue drivers’ licenses to anyone without proper paperwork. This we don’t mind. What we do not agree with is the portion of the law demanding that the state of Missouri administer drivers’ license tests in English only. Even many legal U.S. citizens don’t speak English, and for those who only know English as a second language, having an English-only test places them at a severe disadvantage. Not to mention, it shows an unnecessary level of intolerance. The law negatively targets individuals who do not call English their first language — regardless of whether or not they are citizens.
The bill also states that judges can now deny bail to any detainees that cannot prove the legality of their presence in the U.S., and that the person might be held until released by due process of law. The bill does not, however, require that judges ensure every single detainee that walks through their doors is a citizen. This gives judges the responsibility of deciding who must be asked for proof of citizenship and who must not, making things difficult for both the judges themselves and those they are questioning. The policy encourages a form of racial profiling in which judges will develop stereotypes about the right individuals to ask for proof of legality. Detainees are not the only ones who might potentially be hurt by the new policy; judges’ choices about who to ask for proof of legality could lead to attacks on the judges’ moral character, discernment and whether or not they are biased towards specific races.
The new policy also provides a platform for officers to detain anyone they think could possibly be an illegal immigrant without sufficient support for their claims, basing that assumption on appearance and accent, alone. Individuals are guilty until proven innocent, not the other way around.
We feel that Missouri legislators’ interests should lie not only in protecting citizens from illegal immigrants, but also in protecting them from unfair treatment by the government itself.
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