An Irish American MInnesota public policy profesor has stated that opponent of immigration reform are essentially childish when it comes to their reason for opposing it and that the recent Arizona law displays a"very low level of moral reasoning."
She says government policies much more than the illegals themselves are to blame.
Professor Katherine Fennelly made the controversial comments writing in the Huffington Post.
"Analysis of much of the recent angry rhetoric over "illegal immigration" suggests that many Americans are stuck at the conventional level of moral development, in which the statement "they broke the law" becomes the main criterion for crafting policy responses. If you Google the phrase "what about illegal don't you understand," you will find thousands of adherents to this level of reasoning.
"Considering the immigration dilemma at a higher level of moral reasoning doesn't mean that there is one simple, 'right' policy response. However, it does require examining the root causes of undocumented immigration and its consequences through the lens of more universal principles of justice. If we study those root causes, it's easy to see that our own government policies have produced the problem, rather than contempt for the law on the part of those who enter without authorization or who overstay their visas.
She says that government policies not the illegals are to blame for the dilemma.
"Only one percent of all employment-based visas are issued to low skilled workers. In other words, for these individuals, there is no "line" to get into.
Instead, our government policies have led to a ritualized game of "Gotcha," in which immigrants are drawn to the U.S. because of the prospect of jobs that have gone unfilled by American workers; but once they cross the border, they are increasingly victimized by public anger and by mean-spirited local ordinances and laws.
The newly passed law in Arizona that makes it a crime to be present without a visa or for a legal resident to give a ride to someone known to be undocumented has just raised the stakes in this debate by furthering the game of "Gotcha" at a very low level of moral reasoning."
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