Do We Live In A Just Society

Do We Live In a Just Society?

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Do We Live In a Just Society?

Introduction

“There is no crueler tyranny than that which is perpetuated under the shield of law and in the name of justice." These words were said by a French philosopher named Montesquieu about the politics which still fits in the present world, especially in case of United States of America. It was fine till the foreigners were named aliens in the country; restricting the immigration policies by zero tolerance and separating the parents from their children was something nobody asked for. The United States is a country known for its diverse cultures and ethnicity that happened due to excessive immigration. The economy of the U.S. boomed as the majority of the working class there consists of immigrants from different countries. But in the past few decades, the U.S. government is making the lives of the illegal immigrants miserable by imposing new policies which sometimes violates human rights (Jorgensen, 2017). Living in a society like this, citizens often begin to doubt the justice they are receiving which others are deprived of. This essay aims to argue whether we are living in a just society or not. The society which provides unequal treatment to different classes, races, and regions from immigration status cannot be a just society. Just societies are never conditional and contextual; they are same and equal for everyone following the rule of law.

Discussion

Looking in depth the issue of illegal immigrants, it can be seen that most of those illegal immigrants who cross the border are people who are seeking asylum from their countries. Analyzing further makes us realize that they have every right to ask for shelter on the border. Under article 14 of the universal declaration of human rights, it is legal as well as a human right to ask for asylum from any country of the world (Jorgensen, 2017). Then why strict measures are taken to deport them or keep them under unjustified conditions? Trump recently announced zero tolerance policy to protect the country from the potential threats it may receive on borders. Bush first took the initiative of zero tolerance immigration policy in 2005 with the exceptions of family separation and it was relaxed by Obama (Deron, 2018). Trump government then came, and they made a massive shift in this policy by making the asylum seeking claims harder than ever.

The policies recently made by the Trump administration protects the citizens from the crimes which illegal immigrants commit after crossing the border. The resources which belong to the U.S. citizens are drained from them by the undocumented migrants there. Due to the presence of these migrants, the American people are getting deprived from their jobs. In this time of need, the policy can act as a shield to make the country safe from the people who can exploit the resources.

Arizona SB 1070 is the powerful example of the strictest immigration policy ever passed by any state in the U.S. The law was the apparent violation of the U.S. Constitution and the civil rights, and that’s why some amendments ordered by the Supreme Court (Amuedo‐Dorantes & Lozano, 2015). The reason for passing this law was that Arizona had almost 460,000 illegal aliens in 2010, which created a massive disturbance in the state. It became necessary back then to keep a strict check on all the illegal immigrants.

Conclusion

Witnessing many laws passed by the U.S. government in the name of protection of citizens does not justify the cruel treatment they give to the immigrants who come here for seeking shelter. Due to Trump's family separation policy which is a part of the significant zero tolerance policy, almost 3,000 children are separated from their parents on the border. They are kept in the unsuitable environment, whereas, their parents are sent to federal jails and forced to live with criminals. Asylum seeking is made illegal in the country through the new policies which do not happen anywhere in the world. The irony of the whole situation is that the oppressed person who comes to this country to save himself from oppression is crushed here in different ways. This is not the kind of justice provided in other countries. This is not the form of society we want our future generations to see.

References

Amuedo‐Dorantes, C., & Lozano, F. (2015). On the effectiveness of SB1070 in Arizona. Economic inquiry, 53(1), 335-351.

Deron, B. (2018). Getting Asylum Is A Lot Harder Under Trump's New "Zero Tolerance" Policy. Elite Daily. Retrieved 21 January 2019, from https://www.elitedaily.com/p/is-seeking-asylum-legal-trumps-new-zero-tolerance-policy-is-making-it-harder-9507088

Jorgensen, C. (2017). Immigrant Detention in the United States Violations of International and Human Rights Law. Human Rights Brief.

Riva, S. (2017). Across the border and into the cold: hieleras and the punishment of asylum-seeking Central American women in the United States. Citizenship Studies, 21(3), 309-326.