What Rights?
Last week the National Coalition of Latino Clergy filed suit in federal court in Tulsa challenging the constitutionality of Oklahoma HB 1804 which is scheduled to take effect on November 1st.
Thursday, after business hours, the same group filed electronically an emergency motion seeking a temporary restraining order that will prevent this new immigration law from taking effect until the lawsuit is resolved.
In both legal moves, the National Coalition of Latino Clergy maintains that the new law is unconstitutional and violates illegal immigrants’ rights.
Which of course gives rise to the question, “What rights?”.
And that’s a very good question but not one very many people have considered.
Exactly what rights does an illegal alien, who is violating our laws on a daily and constant basis, have?
The answer can be found in section 1 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states:
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The key to understanding “Section 1″ is contained in two words, “citizens” and “person”. They are not one in the same in the 14th Amendment context.
The “citizens” portion of this section includes:
“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States;”
The above portion of section 1 defines who are U.S. citizens and specifies the protections afford them under this portion of the 14th Amendment.
Then comes the “person” portion of this section, which includes:
“nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
Notice this portion does not use the word “citizen” or “citizens” instead using the word “person”.
In the 14th Amendment context, “person” may or may not be a U.S. citizen. Had the writers of the amendment intended it apply only to “citizens” they would have written “citizens” as was the case in the first clause of Section 1.
This is also the nail on which the National Coalition of Latino Clergy hangs its hat in including as plaintiffs in the suit against Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry and Attorney General Drew Edmondson illegal immigrants identified only as “John Doe” and “Jane Doe” and thereafter argue that their “rights” will be violated by HB 1804 going into effect on November 1.
Clearly under the 14th Amendment any “person”, even an illegal alien, has the right to equal protection of the laws along with the right to not be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law.
These are the “rights” specified for any “person” under the 14th Amendment.
Without doubt illegal aliens do have a constitutionally protected right to sue to block the enforcement of Oklahoma’s new immigration law, this under the 14th Amendment “person” context.
The question then becomes one of whether HB 1804 violates the rights of illegal immigrants and that of course will have to be decided in the courts.
Basically HB does very few things, none of which violate the rights of anyone. All HB 1804 does is:
(1) Ban illegal immigrants from state government identification – providing state government identification to illegal immigrants is optional for the states. Some states do, most states do not and this is clearly a states’ rights issue.
(2) End most public assistance and entitlement benefits for illegal immigrants – these programs are by design intended to provide assistance to our neediest citizens. If one is not a citizen they have no “right” to public assistance and entitlements that are made available by citizens to citizens.
(3) Authorize state and local law enforcement officials to enforce federal immigration law – this is a no-brainer as around the nation various local law enforcement agencies are being recruited in the effort to enforce federal immigration law. If illegal aliens have a complaint with this federal program they should sue the federal government, not state government.
(4) Penalize employers for knowingly hiring illegal immigrants – an existing federal law which is seldom enforced. The new state law is a duplicate of the federal law which has not be successfully challenged. Another no-brainer, and if illegal aliens have a legitimate complaint they would have successfully sued the federal government. That they did not says all we need to know.
(5) Penalize anyone who knowingly transports or harbors illegal immigrants – illegal immigrants are by their very nature, criminals. Illegal aliens are subject to being apprehended at any time, just like any other fugitive from justice. Knowingly transporting or harboring a fugitive from justice is already a crime, regardless of one’s citizenship status. This aspect of HB 1804 simply enhances existing law which has been upheld over a long history in the context of harboring fugitives. A fugitive is nothing more than a person that seeks to elude justice, exactly the actions of an illegal alien.
Do illegal aliens and their enablers have a constitutional right to sue to prevent HB 1804 from going into effect?
Certainly.
Do they have a legal leg to stand upon?
No way – provided the courts abide by the U.S. Constitution.
What we are seeing is simply a “delaying action”, one likely intended to delay as long as possible the enforcement of a law that the vast majority of citizens of the state of Oklahoma and these United States wanted to see enacted and now want to see enforced.
Do not be surprised if the federal courts grant a temporary injunction against enforcement of HB 1804, after all the action is being heard in a court sanctioned by the federal government which has by-in-large refuses to enforce its own laws pertaining to illegal immigration.
Eventually HB 1804 will be upheld as constitutional.
It is just a matter of how long before that day comes. To the enablers of illegal immigration and the businesses that profit from illegal labor, every day of delay in controlling illegal immigration is a good day as it means more money in their bank accounts…
