Deportation as Double Jeopardy?
Malvina, Undergraduate Student (UM-Dearborn) The term ‘Double Jeopardy” is when a person is tried twice for the same case in the criminal world. Would anyone consider a person who is tried, charged and served the consequence for the crime, but is now also going through an immigration removal hearing due to the criminal charge as double jeopardy? The answer is no, double jeopardy is not applied to immigration hearings for non-citizens facing an immigration removal for the same crime they were criminally charged with. People may argue and say that the person deserves getting deported for committing a crime they knew was wrong while being a guest in the US. Others may argue and say that people make mistakes, yes, even immigrants. What should be done here? Imagine having to constantly fear being taken away from the life you built from the ground up, being taken away from your family and community for a mistake you made. This is the reality for the lives of immigrants. Many immigrants are so cautious to ensure they do not do anything that could possibly harm their immigration status. For US citizens, many of us do not think twice about a traffic ticket, or police stop. The average speeding ticket has different consequences for someone going through the immigration process. Regarding the double jeopardy comparison, technically, the immigrant is not being charged twice, but is paying the consequence twice where a US citizen receives less of a punishment. The US citizen can receive a charge as simple as probation time, where an immigrant is sent back to a country they left to build a new life. Mentioned in the American Immigration Council, The Criminalization of Immigration in the United States “Immigrants are less likely to commit serious crimes or be behind bars than the native-born, and high rates of immigration are associated with lower rates of violent crime and property crime. This holds true for both legal immigrants and the unauthorized, regardless of their country of origin or level of education.” This proves the unfortunate news we witness which is, when a foreign national commits a crime, the news articles are blasting exposing their ethnicity / nationality, whereas if the average American person committed the same crime or worse, the news article would not expose they are an American citizen as the headline, and at that point in time, their personal details are left out. Immigrants face a much harsher sentence than compared to citizens and a difficult reality with more news and society hatred as well. In addition to all the negative impacts, the non-citizen can also be tried at an immigration hearing. At immigration hearings, a person is tried for committing specific types of violations or crimes. This also includes minor civil infractions, simple mistakes such as overstaying on a visa, not filing a form on time, etc. An example includes a current Indonesia family from New Jersey that has lived in the US for over two decades is now facing deportation for missing the one-year deadline to seek asylum. Asylum is when people escape from their home country due to being afraid and living in fear of persecution or harm. Many US born citizens are fortunate enough to not have experienced that pain, we can be sympathetic to those that have experienced the fear and are now trying to recreate a new life. Ways to fix this issue is to have the court system treat immigrants in a similar manner US citizens are treated for the same crime. It is proven that immigrants receive much harsher charges for the same crimes many Americans commit. It is also proven that non-citizens do not commit as much crime as citizens. It is shown that a foreign born national is negatively associated with crime, and does not commit property or violent crimes, as stated, if a non-citizen is arrested for a crime, it is generally for a minor offense such as a misdemeanor charge or bureaucratic errors/mistakes. Finally, news channels should be held to a higher standard of less biases and should not negatively engage in the bad news caused by one person, therefore an entire group of people suffer for the action of one person. Many immigrants do not migrate to the US to commit crimes and should not be under removal procedures for specific offenses/crimes an American would receive a slap on the wrist for.
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