My opinion on the larger issue at hand may run counter to your own (though I'm not sure--my stance is that our country *has* to get illegal immigration under control; our resources as a country are stretched thinner than ever and schools and hospitals in border states are bearing an enormous burden that they simply can't shoulder indefinitely...). And ultimately, I think there should be penalties for assisting someone in illegally "breaking into" our country (for lack of a better word).
**However** to criminalize saving a person's life is both ridiculous and reprehensible. If someone came upon someone dying in the desert, are they supposed to ask to see a green card before they start CPR or offer water? If they decide to call an ambulance, would the paramedics then be given jail time or forced to forfeit their property because they came to the aid of an illegal immigrant? I think the forfeiture piece of this legislation is the scariest; anytime you give the government a financial incentive to use a law you invite abuse.
Now, in the article you linked, a government official stated that really the only people who would be prosecuted under this law would be those who "harbor" illegal immigrants, and she said that Churches are reading this legislation "too literally." Apparently this woman fails to understand that laws are about words, and that the literal meaning of those words is what defines whether something is or isn't lawful. To have a government official publicly declare what amounts to complete ignorance of the most basic fundamentals of law is frightening indeed. And I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the irony of the self styled "compassionate conservatives" who continue to pass laws that are anything but compassionate; I can't remember the last time I saw a compassionate act coming from this country's conservatives....
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2005-12-19 07:29 pm (UTC)**However** to criminalize saving a person's life is both ridiculous and reprehensible. If someone came upon someone dying in the desert, are they supposed to ask to see a green card before they start CPR or offer water? If they decide to call an ambulance, would the paramedics then be given jail time or forced to forfeit their property because they came to the aid of an illegal immigrant? I think the forfeiture piece of this legislation is the scariest; anytime you give the government a financial incentive to use a law you invite abuse.
Now, in the article you linked, a government official stated that really the only people who would be prosecuted under this law would be those who "harbor" illegal immigrants, and she said that Churches are reading this legislation "too literally." Apparently this woman fails to understand that laws are about words, and that the literal meaning of those words is what defines whether something is or isn't lawful. To have a government official publicly declare what amounts to complete ignorance of the most basic fundamentals of law is frightening indeed. And I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the irony of the self styled "compassionate conservatives" who continue to pass laws that are anything but compassionate; I can't remember the last time I saw a compassionate act coming from this country's conservatives....