Immigration Improperly Blamed for Death

This Reason.com article is about a tragic situation made worse by misdirecting blame to an entire segment of the population.  A woman's son is killed by a drunk driver, but instead of putting the blame on the individual who chose to drive drunk and violate the rights of her son, and fight against drunk driving, she chooses to blame the immigrant community and fight for less immigration.  From the article:

But Maloney, as quoted by the Boston Herald, really does think her son's death has something to do with her state's lax enforcement of immigration laws:

"My son paid the ultimate price with his life because Massachusetts is a safe haven for illegal immigrants,” Maloney told members of the Judiciary Committee. “The real question I ask is, Why would illegal immigrants not come to Massachusetts when we are so willing to provide them with jobs and free services they could not get in their native countries?”

Her loss is terrible, but it should have no relevance to whether Massachusetts passes this immigration law. The backers of the bill are stressing the increased penalties for unlicensed driving, but they also admit that the death of Denice is part of the motivation.

But equating Guaman's killer recklessness with proof that illegal immigrants are inherently dangerous is as foolish as Arizona passing their controversial "papers, please" bill in response to an illegal immigrant murdering someone. Which (to some extent) they did, noted Cato's Daniel Griswold in May 2010. He also wrote the the problem with illegal immigration crack-downs is that:

"Absent real reforms, ramped up enforcement will only drive illegal workers deeper underground, raise smuggling fees, and divert law enforcement resources away from apprehending real criminals who truly do threaten public safely."

There are good and bad people all over this world and they're from all walks of life and ethnic backgrounds.  Some of those bad people commit crimes, and no matter where they are, they should be brought to justice for those crimes.  It's unjust to blame an entire group of people (most of which are here to find work and make a better life for their families) for the actions of one or a few.  As rational human beings, it is our responsibility to judge individuals based on the facts and act accordingly.

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