Illegal aliens naturally fear police

One of the prime arguments employed to promote amnesty for illegal aliens is the alien’s own fear of police. Amnesty supporters, such as the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), claim that illegal aliens fail to report crimes for fear they will be deported. A case in Charlotte, NC seemingly bolsters that argument.

A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer stopped a young woman for an alleged traffic violation. Her boyfriend, Abel Moreno, was a passenger and an illegal alien. During the stop the officer groped the young lady. Moreno intervened, exactly as he or anyone else should’ve done. Now he’s in jail awaiting possible deportation.

Does this prove the pro-amnesty argument, that illegal aliens are expelled for reporting crimes committed against them? Not at all. In fact, that premise is based on a faulty assumption. If Moreno is deported it won’t be for blowing the whistle on the bad cop, who’s in jail with his own legal troubles. Moreno will be deported because he violated US immigration laws. The fact that he reported the officer’s misconduct does not make his own actions legal.

No doubt the SPLC is correct in one aspect, illegal aliens aren’t likely to report all of the crimes committed against them. That is the nature of lawbreakers; they tend to avoid contact with law enforcement with the same urgency that Christians once avoided Nero’s garden parties. And this quality isn’t confined only to people who violate immigration laws; it’s common to perpetrators of all unlawful behavior.

Suppose a drug dealer returned home to find the house burglarized. It might be better to deal with the situation alone than to have investigators nosing around in the closets. The victimized dealer’s stash could be uncovered. If the dealer chooses to call the police and the cache is discovered the ensuing arrest won’t result from having reported the crime; it will arise from the dealer’s own violation of the law.

Prostitutes, likewise, endure crimes rather than invite inquiry. “Working girls” conceal robberies, assaults and even rapes. Suppose a client paid his escort with a punch in the nose rather than cash. If the prostitute reports the crime she knows her own illegal activities will be exposed, if you’ll pardon the pun. Her prostitution, not having reported the assault, has put her at odds with law enforcement.

The same principle applies to immigrants. Illegal aliens aren’t prosecuted or deported for filing crime reports. But the justifiable decision to report crimes committed against them doesn’t validate the alien’s earlier decision to ignore immigration laws. The knowledge of their own illegality motivates aliens to avoid contact that could expose their status. The fault doesn’t lie in an unjust society, cultural or racial bias, nativism, or any other sensationalistic charge routinely trotted out by pro-amnesty advocates. It is simply a characteristic of the outlaw.

Must illegal aliens then suffer silently so to avoid deportation? Not necessarily. Prosecutors routinely cut deals with suspects to provide state’s evidence in more serious cases. Plea bargains are a viable option for aliens like Abel Moreno, if their only crime is illegal immigration and their foremost desire is to become American citizens. For aliens who would game the system and bolster their legal status with false crime reports and perjury, immediate deportation is the perfect remedy.

More than sufficient reason exists to hold illegal aliens accountable for violating our borders. No reason exists to allow organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center to substitute mindless, racial dogma for border enforcement policies.

Aliens aren’t deported because they report crimes committed against them. Aliens are deported because their own immigration choice placed them at odds with the law. Let the responsibility rest where it belongs.