I was sticking with the ideological meaning. Unforturnately, the Kantian meaning of “the right” is ignored i n politics (and foreign to the political “right”). Thanks for the above explanation, as a political philosopher, I appreciate the assistance of legal experts.

That wasn’t the “right” who blocked immigration law reform.

It was the “wrong.”

Start with Title 8 of the United States Code, where the Immigration and Nationality Act is codified. Then move on to Title 18, which is where the federal criminal laws are codified.

You will find that some violations of the immigration laws are crimes, but overstaying visas or being here after entering without inspection are not.

As I suggested in my previous comment, it is common for people to assume that immigration law violators are criminals. That just is not the case.

And, Chris H. is right about the relative levels of contributions to and “withdrawals” from the system. Undocumented immigrants as a whole contribute more to the government through taxes and to the economy through the value of their labor than they take out.

This doesn’t mean that large numbers of immigrants do not place burdens on the community. A good way to help ameliorate those burdens would be to stop treating immigrants as criminals and potential terrorists, and to provide them a way to legalize their status, without the draconian penalties that now apply. (For example, a person who is here out of status for one year is subject to a 10-year bar on re-entry into the U.S. Thus, for millions of people who could otherwise be sponsored for lawful residency by their employers, that path is subject to a 10-year detour.)

I agree with you. That is why Bush proposed a reasonable solution that the right blocked. Comments like JennVan’s above are not just policy disagreements and that is obvious. The primary obstacle to finding a reasonable solution is racism.

A serious guest worker program (YES AMNESTY) with a path to citizens ship would go a long ways toward solving these problems.

For me this is our generations segregation. We are still early 1950s stage.

It’s unfair and irresponsible for you and others to keep suggesting that anyone who has problems with illegal immigrations is a racist.

I’m sure you have anecdotes of intolerant people who oppose immigration, but it is a serious problem.

Come back to Montgomery County and see how much it has changed. I attend at the Silver Spring Stake center and go to my ward’s welfare committee. Each month we struggle with how to help our brothers and sisters who need our help. Many of them are immigrants. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as I believe it’s our christian duty to help them.

But the county has become a very attractive place for illegal immigrants and it has caused serious strains on the government and the local infrastructure, including the Church.

The flipside of your argument is that illegal are being hosed by unscrupulous employers and not getting enough back from the government, for those who do pay taxes. I’m sure you want some way for them to be be able to come out of the “shadows.”

And not doing anything about it is not the solution. Raising questions about it is not racism.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/29/AR2007042901322.html

David,
“Law and order” conservatives should have not problem with the Church’s position. Racist conservatives are a different story.

“The founding fathers understood that there are certain laws that a country must obey in order to function,”

True, the seperation of powers, checks and balances, and the bill of rights. Those were the principles and laws that are the cornerstone of our republic. You are evoking the founders in a way that the founders would have found ridiculous.

“among those are that we must all pay into a central government (taxes) in order for it to continue to exist.”

They pay taxes. I am a liberal and am all for people paying taxes. The only place where they do not pay taxes is in your head.

The founding fathers understood that there are certain laws that a country must obey in order to function, among those are that we must all pay into a central government (taxes) in order for it to continue to exist.

If these illegal immigrants can choose to not pay taxes, then why can’t I choose to not pay taxes because I don’t think the government/congress is doing what they should and have no criminal liabilities from such?

JennVan, that is completely untrue. They receive few benefits and most pay social security taxes and other taxes that they will never get back. Saying it over and over again does not make it true.

“There are fundamental laws that were established by the founding fathers that we just can not go against or else this nation will fall.”

What do the founding fathers have to do with this current debate? Congress is given the power to regulate immigration and naturalization. This means that they also have the power to grant amesty.

Since the white racist community felt so comfortable for so long in the Church, I could see why they might be nervous.

George, it is principled position. National borders are nothing in the eyes of God.