The talented Helen Rittelmeyer of Cigarette Smoking Blog has also been writing some great columns for TakiMag, and her latest is no exception. Pointing out the benefits of making immigration policies on the local level, she makes a compelling case that such a policy is right for the short term.
I find Helen's call for localism personally appealing because I remain torn on the issue. I agree with many religious conservatives that certain anti-illegal immigrant measures are inhumane while remaining skeptical of those conservatives who claim that programs like New Haven's Elm City ID card can draw immigrants into the community and breed respect for the law.
A New York Times article on the Elm City ID card from last fall sums up my qualms nicely in quoting a supposedly legal immigrant who was applying for one of the cards.
"And if I’m stopped by the cops, I’ll have something to show them," he said in Spanish through an interpreter.
3 comments:
I'm a little confused as to how "If I'm stopped by the cops, I'll have something to show them" demonstrates your qualms about the program. People who are not criminals have been known to be stopped by police from time to time--especially if they're in a high-crime neighborhood and the cops are looking for help from witnesses, though the color of their skin makes them more likely suspects for crime as well--and police will usually ask for ID in either situation. I'm also kind of unsure as to what other form of ID a "supposedly legal" immigrant would have--unless you're assuming he drives, which many people can't afford to do.
Incidentally, I don't think I'd argue such programs teach immigrants "respect for the law." Rather, they show that it's possible for the law to respect them. I haven't yet heard an argument from a traditionalist for respecting law as such that was persuasive for the current regime of immigration law (arbitrary, inhumanely used and not terribly traditional).
A big part of it is that a translator was needed for the reporter to communicate with the man. But the quote did seem to suggest to me that he was seeking to get away with something or another.
If in fact he was a legal immigrant, driver or not, a Connecticut DMV (like many other states) would be able to issue a State ID, and the benefits of an Elm City ID are no longer very special for him.
If he was not a legal immigrant, then any way you spin it he is attempting to further subvert the law, even if you think that in this case subverting the law isn't such a bad thing.
I pretty much agree on your last paragraph, though.
It's not like State IDs are heavily advertised, though. I'm unconvinced that a legal resident would necessarily know he ought to have one and/or understand why it's more legitimate than the ECRC.
And I flatly disagree that the fact that he sees interaction with cops as a way of life suggests he's "trying to get away with something," for the reasons I mentioned earlier.
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