The Crime of Illegal Immigration

There are laws that are intended to protect people from one another.  Murder, robbery, assault, theft, rape, for example. This type of law needs to be taken very seriously to maintain a civil society.  We need to do all that we can to prevent their occurrence and punish the wrongdoer.

Then there are laws that are about organizing society.  Telling us where we can or can't park.  How fast we can go on the freeway.  When we can cross the street and when we can't.   They second type of law is not so serious.  Sure we need to enforce them to prevent anarchy.  But in fact if we are honest with ourselves almost all of us break these types of laws from time to time.   We speed so we won't be late to an appointment.  We park illegally because we need to do some quick errand.  Maybe we exaggerate the value of a deduction on our tax return.

Here in the San Francisco Bay area if I go out and run errands I am mixing with immigrants from many countries, some legal, some illegal. They are just people, trying to live their life, raise a family, build a better life for their kids.  Someone speeding is much more of  threat.  Someone double parked on a busy street while they run an errand is more irritating and inconvenient.

Economists who have studied immigration seem to have no doubt immigrants pay far more in taxes than we spend on social benefits they receive from the government.  Immigrants usually do jobs none of us will do because they are hard work and they pay little.  The damage caused by illegal immigration seems to be largely rooted in speculative generalizations. 

It's hard for me to imagine Donald Trump never drives faster than the speed limit, never exaggerates a deduction, never breaks any law whatsoever.  

Brings to mind Jesus's admonition.  Lot of stones are being cast in the immigration debate.