Yes, millions of people are in our country who have no legal justification to be here.
And, transparently, We the People are the ones who decide who comes into and stays in our country—and who does not. But, having said that, it is also clear that over the past several decades our country has “looked the other way” while large numbers of “undocumented” people have come across our borders and lived here for long periods of time. Many of them have contributed strongly to our country, but many other people have not.
So what should we do now?
Actually, it’s not really that hard. The first two fundamental things to keep in mind are that we are a nation of laws and that we are dealing with human beings. That means that all parties must be held accountable for their actions—including our government.
So what we should do first is to publicize fully and widely the obligation of all undocumented people who are in our country to promptly contact the federal government and make their presence known, including the address at which they can be located.
Then, each one of those people should be sent a form by the government which would require information about what jobs they have had, what family members live with and are supported by them, any criminal violations of which they have been convicted, etc., as well as any other information they would like to provide.
This would allow the government agencies to research each person and determine what should happen next.
If the people have been here for years, gainfully employed, successfully raised children of good moral character, and not been involved with criminal violations, terrorist organizations, or prior deportations, our government should probably provide a prompt path for them to become citizens, and probably without a hearing.
Other people could be provided with a date, place, and time for an interview to determine what the reasonable options are.
For those who either do not make their presence known or who have generally put our safety or welfare at risk, or who simply have been a drain on our country, a neutral hearing should be scheduled to determine if they should be deported.
In addition, those people who are found to be a threat to our safety or welfare should be taken into custody. However, and most importantly, no one should be deported or kept in custody without a neutral hearing for a dispositive decision to be reached, with legal counsel being made available to represent them.
Finally, if a program of this kind were to be utilized, enormous pressure would be taken off our federal enforcement personnel, like ICE.
Why? Because now the friction caused by “raiding” places like farms, schools, and minority communities would be seriously cut back.
Thus, there would be almost no cause for threats against the officers if they were to have their identities known.
And, finally, I hope you agree that having anonymous law enforcement officers of unknown agencies dealing with any of our people is the totalitarian way, not the American way!
So, once again, I am interested in your thoughts.
Judge James P. Gray (Ret.) of the Orange County Superior Court. Former Peace Corps volunteer in Costa Rica, former criminal defense attorney in Navy JAG Corps, former federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, and presently a mediator with ADR Services. He is the author of “Why Our Drug Laws Have Failed: A Judicial Indictment Of War On Drugs” and “All Rise!: The Libertarian Way with Judge Jim Gray”